''L'Expression de Mamy-Wata'', often referred to as simply ''Mamy-Wata'', is a weekly
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
published in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
by the media company
La Nouvelle Expression.
[CPJ.] The paper is written in French peppered with loan words from
Cameroonian Pidgin English. In 1999, it had a weekly
circulation
Circulation may refer to:
Science and technology
* Atmospheric circulation, the large-scale movement of air
* Circulation (physics), the path integral of the fluid velocity around a closed curve in a fluid flow field
* Circulatory system, a bio ...
of 4,000 copies.
On 4 January 1999, Cameroonian police confiscated from 2,000 to 2,500 copies of ''Mamy-Wata'' in
Douala. La Nouvelle Expression reported that the papers were taken in response to a cartoon in the 29 December issue that depicted Cameroon's president,
Paul Biya, in a spat with his wife.
Reports differ on whether the police ever provided an official justification for the seizure; the
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
reported that none was provided, but the
International Press Institute reported that authorities claimed the newspapers were a "breach of public order". Scholar George Echu has claimed that the incident added ''Mamy-Wata'' to "the pantheon of Africa's satirical heavyweights."
[Eko 135.]
Notes
References
Africa 1999: Cameroon. Committee to Protect Journalists. Accessed 13 December 2007.
*"
*
*Eko, Lyombe (2003). "Hear All Evil, See All Evil, Rail against All Evil: ''Le Messager'' and the Journalism of Resistance in Cameroon", ''The Leadership Challenge in Africa: Cameroon under Paul Biya''. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press, Inc. .
French-language newspapers published in Africa
Newspapers published in Cameroon
Satirical newspapers
Weekly newspapers
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