On January 19, 2026, Cameroonian authorities arrested Brand Kamga, editor of the online channel Naja TV, and charged him with attempting to abduct the child of a woman he was investigating.
Kamga met the plaintiff, Annette Josiane Wandji Njikeu, to investigate a tip-off alleging that she became romantically involved with a man to help her obtain French identity documents for her daughter. Njikeu is a bodybuilder who first came to Kamga’s attention when Naja TV published a video profile of her in 2024.
In early 2025, Kamga was contacted by a French citizen, Denis Gréard, who alleged that Njikeu had scammed him. Gréard told CPJ that he met Njikeu online and they struck up a long-distance romance, but she cut off all communication after he helped her get a new birth certificate for her daughter.
In February 2025, Naja TV drew up a draft contract — which was shared online and which Gréard confirmed to CPJ was genuine — stating Gréard would pay Kamga 800 euros (US$ 952) to produce a “balanced report” allowing both Gréard and Njikeu to explain their version of events. Gréard told CPJ he did not sign the contract.
In May 2025, Njikeu filed a complaint to the gendarmerie against Kamga for attempting to kidnap her daughter from school, leading to his January 19, 2026, summons and detention in the city’s Kondengui Central Prison.
Kamga phoned and met Njikeu to follow up on the allegations against her but did not publish anything, a person following the case, who declined to be named, citing fear of reprisals, told CPJ.
The gendarmerie’s pre-trial investigation was flawed, that person added, noting that a school staffer said they saw the journalist on the premises and that surveillance cameras were on-site, but the gendarmerie did not obtain the footage.
On January 20, 2026, Njikeu did not appear at the opening of the trial in the capital, Yaoundé, and the prosecutor asked for a postponement to allow him time to present the facts, the journalist’s lawyer, Guy Léonard Gueyo Kamga, and the second person told CPJ.
Njikeu was represented by a woman who said she was appearing because the plaintiff had fled the country, those two people told CPJ. The judge asked the woman to return with proof that she had power of attorney to represent Njikeu, they added. The case was adjourned against the wishes of the defense.
On February 3, 2026, the judge released Kamga, following his lawyers’ request for provisional release, the lawyers told CPJ.
CPJ's late January calls to request comment from Njikeu and the justice ministry were not answered.