| Pius Njawé | |
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Pius Njawé at a conference in Paris |
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| Born | March 4, 1957 |
| Died | July 12, 2010 (aged 53) Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Nationality | Cameroonian |
Pius Njawé (March 4, 1957 – July 12, 2010)[1] was a Cameroonian journalist and director of Le Messager as well as Le Messager Populi. He had been known as one of the strongest advocates for press freedom in Africa beginning with his founding of Le Messager in 1979.[2]
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At the age of 19, he helped reveal the news oil had been discovered in Cameroon. This led to his first arrest. A few years later he stated that he was tortured for writing about the poor results of students in Douala where he lived. He was arrested and imprisoned 126 times in the last thirty years of his life.[3]
The paper became known for its criticism of President Paul Biya. In 1990 his publishing of "Open Letter", to Biya, led to his arrest.[4] In 1998 he was sentenced to two years in prison because the newspaper ran an article about President Paul Biya's health that indicated he had a heart condition. The sentence for running this article was later reduced and, due to pressures from Human Rights groups, he was pardoned after almost a year in prison. His wife had miscarried in the interim reportedly due to treatment by prison guards.[5]
On July 12, 2010, Njawé was killed in a car accident in Chesapeake, Virginia in the United States. The accident happened when a tractor-trailer rear-ended the car in which Njawé was a passenger. Njawé's wife Jane had been killed in a car accident in September 2002.[6][7]
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