Voicing African Voices

Author

Sam-Nuvala Fonkem

Michael Sam-Nuvala Fonkem is an accomplished journalist who has been practicing uninterrupted since graduating in 1976 from the International School of Journalism, Yaoundé (Ecole Suprieure de Journalisme de Yaoundé-ESSIJY). His professional career which kicked off as a news anchor and commentator at the National Station of Radio Cameroon, Yaoundé brought him face to face with the grim reality of the consequences of refusing to play the role of ‘His Master’s Voice’. Interrogations with the ‘political police’, intimidations, arrests and a 5-month spell of incarceration at the Nkondengui maximum security prison, Yaounde was the price he had to pay for being a free thinker. During his journey through the wilderness marked by a lay-off from the Cameroon Civil Service in 1998, Sam-Nuvala Fonkem wrote for a number of news publications until he joined the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) as Public Information Officer in 2010.

Journalism Publishing and Writing

Snapshots: An X-ray of Cameroon’s Democracy, Governance and Unification

by Sam-Nuvala Fonkem

In the 1960s and 1970s, Third World governments prescribed and imposed a certain kind of journalism variously called ‘objective’ journalism or ‘development journalism’. They…

Journalism Publishing and Writing

Incisive Journalism in Cameroon

by Sam-Nuvala Fonkem

The Best of “Cameroon Report” (1978 – 1986) Working for Cameroon state-owned Radio in the 1970s and ’80s meant toeing the official line and…

The mission of Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group (Langaa RPCIG) is to contribute to the cultural development and renaissance of Africa. This is achieved by conducting research, providing training in research and writing, and publishing and promoting African scholarship and creative writing. Langaa, not set up for monetary profit-making, is supported by founding members and other contributors, financial grants and efforts of volunteers. Langaa is physically located in Bamenda and Buea (Cameroon), although its members and volunteers operate from different parts of the world. So far, Langaa has published over 500 titles, mainly on Cameroon, but also on other African countries like Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Outstanding scholars and ordinary people familiar with the Cameroonian and African context provide editorial guidance. Each manuscript is systematically reviewed before a publication decision. Peer reviews, reader reports, and editorial changes are stored as evidence of the rigour of Langaa ’s processes.