Mbawa, publisher of the independent Cameroon Post, was sentenced on July 13, 1995, to six months in prison on charges of libeling a company director in an April issue of his paper. He was imprisoned in mid-August. Mbawa is contesting the conviction on the grounds that he was never presented a summons to the July 13 hearing. Mbawa’s defense was hampered when his attorney, Julius Achu, dropped the case due to pressure from his older brother, Prime Minister Simon Achidi Achu. The Cameroon Post is still being published, albeit irregularly.
