Cameroon Elections: Ex-Equinoxe Host Faces International Pursuit as Wife Arrested in Midnight Raid

What the document says

The single-page file, referenced INT/MA/0325/2025, lists five counts under the Penal Code, including incitement to ethnic hatred, calls for violence against state institutions, insurrection and civil disobedience, dissemination of false information, and complicity in acts aimed at undermining state stability. It states that Mr Ngatchou “has fled the national territory” and urges INTERPOL’s 195 member countries to provisionally arrest him pending extradition to Cameroon.

Doubts over authenticity

A Red Notice—INTERPOL’s highest diffusion—is not an international arrest warrant; it is merely a request to locate and provisionally detain a suspect, and each country decides what legal weight to give it. As of noon Friday, no public Red Notice bearing Mr Ngatchou’s name appeared on INTERPOL’s searchable database, and Yaoundé’s National Central Bureau has not responded to queries about the filing procedure.

Overnight arrest in Douala

Hours after the document surfaced, plain-clothes gendarmes detained Vanessa Ngatchou, the journalist’s wife, during a midnight raid on the couple’s home in Logpom, Douala. Mr Ngatchou—broadcasting from an undisclosed location—told followers in a live video that the officers produced no warrant and that four young children witnessed the arrest. “They don’t realise they’ve made the worst mistake of their lives by targeting you,” he wrote in an earlier post.

Charges linked to pre-election calls

Mr Ngatchou has in recent weeks livestreamed appeals for nationwide street protests should opposition leader Maurice Kamto be barred from the 7 October presidential ballot. Election body ELECAM is due to publish the final list of 2025 candidates this weekend. Authorities allege the journalist’s broadcasts constitute calls for an uprising.

Government silence, civil-society concern

The Ministry of Communication and the Delegate-General for National Security declined comment when contacted by Cameroon Concord. Press-freedom advocates said the episode fits a pattern of family-member reprisals aimed at silencing critics ahead of contested polls.

“Arresting a spouse to pressure a journalist crosses every red line in the books,” a Yaoundé-based lawyer who monitors political detentions told this newspaper on condition of anonymity.

Next procedural steps

• Legal vetting – INTERPOL’s Notices and Diffusions Task Force must decide whether the request is political in nature, which would violate the organisation’s Constitution.

• Foreign-court scrutiny – Even if approved, extradition would still hinge on domestic courts in any state where Mr Ngatchou is detained.

• Domestic follow-up – Lawyers for Mrs Ngatchou say they have yet to receive formal detention papers.

Broader context

The warrant bid comes amid a wider clamp-down on dissent:

• January 2023 – Radio host Martinez Zogo abducted and killed near Yaoundé.

• April 2024 – Government decree forbids public discussion of President Paul Biya’s health.

• July 2025 – Opposition figures Albert Dzongang and Mathieu Youbi receive arrest warrants on similar hate-speech accusations.

What to watch

• INTERPOL’s ruling on the Red Notice request, expected within days.

• Mrs Ngatchou’s whereabouts and legal status.

• ELECAM’s candidate list, due 28 July, which could spark further arrests if high-profile aspirants are struck off.

Cameroon Concord will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as official information becomes available.