Claim: A message circulating on WhatsApp in Ghana says the military in Cameroon has overthrown President Paul Biya.
Verdict: False. Data available on X (formerly Twitter) showed President Paul Biya sharing posts about his government’s successes two days after the purported coup d’état took place. Also, checks by DUBAWA showed no media organisation has reported a coup in Cameroon.
Full Text
There is a message circulating on WhatsApp in Ghana about the overthrow of Cameroonian President Paul Biya.
This message appears to have been fuelled by a post shared by a TikToker Dagger-of-Monrovia, who claimed the military in Cameroon has arrested the country’s President.
“Military coup d’etat in Cameroon? Oh yes! The Cameroonian President Paul Biya has been overthrown by a military coup d’état.
“According to reports, they said the Cameroonian 90-year-old President who has been President for the past 45 years was arrested two days ago (August 5, 2023) and he is currently being held hostage,” the TikToker alleged on August 7, 2023.
“Currently, as we speak, the Cameroonian Army General, Joseph Beti Assomo, is the acting President of Cameroon, and they have not yet announced the coup d’état,” the TikToker claimed.
Data available on the social media platform showed the video has received over 12,400 likes and 2,977 comments.
DUBAWA opted to investigate this claim because of the delicate nature of coup d’état and the attempts by people to misinform the public about such incidents.
Verification
A Google search by DUBAWA showed no media organisation, both local and international, has reported about a military overthrow in the Central African country as was done in the case of Gabon.
See here, here, here, and here for reports about the coup d’état in Gabon on August 30, 2023.
Also, data available on X showed that Mr Biya was active on the social media platform, posting about the successes of his regime two days after the supposed coup d’état.
On August 7, 2023, President Biya shared a post about a decree on the administrative and academic organisation of the School of Veterinary Sciences and Medicine of the University of Ngaoundere, which he had issued. See the post here.
Another discrepancy with the story concerns the claim that the “Cameroonian Army General, Joseph Beti Assomo, is the acting President.”
Checks by DUBAWA have revealed that Mr Assomo is not the Army General of Cameroon. Rather, he is the Minister Delegate at the Cameroonian Presidency in charge of Defence, a position he has occupied since 2015. See here.
Although Mr Biya reshuffled his top military brass hours after the coup d’état in Gabon, this did not affect Mr Assomo’s position. See here and here for the reports.
Also, see here for the changes that occurred at the Ministry of Defence in Cameroon on August 30, 2023.
It is, therefore, not true that the military in Cameroon has overthrown President Paul Biya as alleged.
Conclusion
Cameroonian President Paul Biya is still the leader of the Central African country. Data available on X showed the Cameroonian leader sharing posts about his government’s successes two days after the purported coup d’état took place.
Salut