Moussala, editor of Aurore Plus, was convicted of defaming Jean Tchoussa Moussa Mbatkam, director general of the National Ports Department of Cameroon (ONPC) and a deputy of the ruling Rassemblement Democratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC) party. He was sentenced to six months in prison and fined one million CFA (US$1,783). In addition, the newspaper was ordered to suspend publication for six months.
The suit cited a December 16, 1997, Aurore Plus article titled “ONPC, Tome II, Tchoussa Moussa at the Centre of a Failed Coup,” which reported that Moussa had taken advantage of his position as director of the ONPC to stage a coup d’état. Moussala was arrested on September 3, 1998, by police officers who presented a warrant that had been issued shortly after his January conviction.