Published On 7/2/2026
The government in Cameroon broke its silence regarding the issue of an alleged presidential decree deposited at the headquarters of the Cameroonian Radio and Television Corporation, confirming that there had been an “attempt to publish a false document” bearing the appointment of a Vice President of the Republic, while interpretations differed between those who saw it as an “attempt at an institutional coup” and those who considered it a “theatrics” to divert attention.
According to an official statement issued by the Minister of Communication and government spokesman, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, last June, a person approached the authority’s headquarters in Yaounde to deposit a sealed envelope containing an alleged presidential decree announcing the appointment of a vice president of the republic, bearing presidential seals and a signature attributed to President Paul Biya.
The statement explained that “the authority’s internal verification procedures allowed for the fraud to be detected before any broadcast,” and that the fake decree was not published on any of the institution’s public channels. He added that the suspected person was arrested and placed at the disposal of the competent authorities, with an investigation opened to determine the circumstances of the attempt.
The statement stressed that the detainee “does not belong to the employees of the Presidency of the Republic and does not have any authorization to act in its name.” While the authorities confirmed the existence of an attempt to introduce a fake decree related to the creation of the position of Vice President of the Republic, they did not refer to any ministerial reshuffle that had been promoted in recent speculation, calling on citizens to “adhere to information issued through official channels while awaiting the conclusions of the judicial investigation.”
Arrest and investigation
According to a report by Camer.be (a Cameroonian website with an opposition editorial line), the suspected person passed the gates of the Commission’s headquarters carrying a sealed envelope that included two texts: the first was an announcement of the appointment of a Vice President of the Republic, and the second was an announcement of a broad ministerial reshuffle. The website indicated that the two documents were of “exquisite quality”: official presidential seals, a signature attributed to Biya, and an output that did not distinguish them at first glance from real decrees, and that the goal was to read them on the evening news broadcast on national radio.
The website stated that a journalist in the agency was the one who received the envelope and doubted its contents, so he informed his superiors, and that the Director-General was forced to contact some of the president’s men who were in Geneva at the time to verify, but the denial came that Biya had not signed anything. The website added that the detainee “is a graduate of a mining school and belongs to a church,” but his motives or the presence of other parties with him have not yet become clear.
Different readings
The Kamer Bee website presented the issue as being between the possibilities of “political manipulation” and an “attempted coup,” noting that the position of vice president created under the constitutional review last April had become a “position of automatic succession,” and that appointing a person to it, even through fraud, would have suggested the identification of a presumptive heir.
On the other hand, the website quoted the academic and politician Jean Bahibeke as saying that “the incident that occurred at the authority is most likely a play aimed at distracting public opinion,” adding that “if the matter were real, the country would be in a state of panic with enhanced security and the imposition of a curfew,” reminding that “Cameroon has one of the best intelligence services.”
According to the same source, the incident falls within a specific political context, as Biya announced on December 31, 2025 a ministerial reshuffle that was not implemented six months later, in light of a discussion related to the issue of succession.
