2025 Presidential Election: Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister NICO HALLE, Calls On Journalists To Strive To Stand As People Of Integrity, By Reporting Nothing But The Truth

“Don’t Allow Yourselves To Be Manipulated. Avoid Corruption, Disinformation, Sensationalism, Misinformation, And Hate Speech. Remember The Cause Of The 1994 Genocide In Rwanda”.  

NICO HALLE, A Crusader For Core Moral Values, Explains That The Rule Of Law Has Failed In Many Countries, Because People Have Failed To Embrace The Rule Of Love

Points Out That Political Parties Have Since Started Campaigns For The Presidential Election, Whereas The Electoral Law States That Campaigns Should Start 15 Days To The Election

The International Election Observer, Election Expert and International Legal Consultant, Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, has called on journalists that will be involved one way or the other, in the coverage of the 2025 presidential election in Cameroon, scheduled to hold on October 12, to strive to stand as people of integrity, by reporting nothing but the truth. He has urged that journalists should in their coverage of the election thus strive to avoid misinformation, corruption, disinformation, defamation, sensationalism, warning that even omission (of facts) is punishable by Law.  He has advised that to avoid disinformation, a journalist must check and crosscheck his facts, and not sit in his room and concoct stories. To avoid misinformation, a journalist must strive to stay professional, and not allow himself, to be manipulated, or to be bribed, to distort facts and thus report lies.

Nico Halle who is also the National Patron of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ, was speaking at a workshop on Election Reporting that was organized by the Douala Branch of CAMASEJ commonly known as CAMASEJ D, in the nation’s economic capital on August 22, 2025. The workshop that was coordinated by the President of CAMASEJ D., Madam NDIH Maureen, of Canal 2 International, had as theme: “EFFECTIVE, ETHICAL ELECTIONS REPORTING AND FACTCHECKING THE ELECTORAL PROCESS”. The workshop was organized in the context of the October 12, 2025 presidential election.

The August 22 workshop was apparently the last in a series of workshops that that CAMASEJ D under the leadership of Ndih Maureen, has been organizing since last year, to prepare journalists for a better coverage of the crucial 2025 presidential election, by respecting professional ethics and the Law.  Also worth noting, that Nico Halle at the August 22 workshop, talked on: “Upholding Ethics & Law in Election Reporting. The Journalist’s Role Before, During & After the Polls”. Another speaker at the workshop was the Wouri Divisional Delegate of Elections Cameroon (ELCAM), Madam Dorohtee EYANGO.  The heavily attended workshop which had as venue, Royal Palace Hotel Bonaberi, Douala, was opened to all interested journalists, including Francophone colleagues.

Election Coverage – A Challenging Period For Journalists 

Meanwhile, Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, told the journalists at the CAMASEJ D. workshop on August 22, that if he sacrificed his time to come to the workshop, it was to encourage the journalists in their noble and challenging mission, for journalists are an indispensable tool in the promotion of the development of a society or country.

Halle, who was a member of the National Elections Observatory in charge of supervising elections in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, said as an election observer he knows that journalists face a lot of challenges in the coverage of elections. He said this partly because there are always some unscrupulous politicians out there, who will try to manipulate or bribe journalists to distort facts and instead report political propaganda, or even defamatory stories against opponents. Halle advised journalists to strive to be very vigilant, for there is a lot of falsehood during election period.

Journalist Of Integrity, A Journalist That Is Credible

Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle stressed  that journalists have an obligation to strive to report the truth, and nothing but the truth, adding that people  know when a journalist reports the truth or when he or she report lies, for Cameroonians are intelligent people. He said journalists as usual, will be under scrutiny in the coverage of the upcoming presidential election. Halle stated that when a journalist reports the truth, he is recognized by readers, viewers or listeners as somebody that has credibility, as a man of integrity. He said a good journalist is not out to please or to hurt anybody, but rather to do his or her job well. He noted that a good journalist respects professional ethics, and stays professional when doing his or her job.  Halle recalls the saying that the truth is bitter, but must be spoken.

Nico Halle said there is no doubt that when a journalist does his or her job well, by presenting an objective report, by reporting the truth, there are some people that will hate him, or that will feel hurt by the report. “A true or good report only hurts those in falsehood”, he stated. Halle said a journalist needs not bother, if he does a report well, respecting professional norms, and somebody feels unhappy about it. He said the truth is that when somebody reads a good report, even if the person feels hurt or is unhappy with the journalist for telling the truth, the person will in his mind have respect for the journalist, as somebody who is credible. He advised journalists to do their work, in a way that builds good legacies for themselves.

Journalist That Lacks Integrity, A journalist That is Not Credible 

On the other hand, Nico Halle asserted that people have no respect for a journalist who can be manipulated, a journalist whose report is influenced by personal interest, a journalist that gets involved in propagating lies and hate speech, a journalist that  write defamatory stuffs, a journalist that is corrupt. In a nutshell, a journalist, that does not respect professional ethics.  Halle stated that such a journalist is not credible, that, he is somebody that lacks integrity.

Halle cautioned journalists to bear in mind that when somebody manipulates or bribes a journalist to distort facts or report lies, the person will be happy with that journalist for doing the dirty job, but that that same person in reality, will never have respect for that journalist, for he knows that the journalist is a corrupt fellow, and thus a journalist that has no credibility. Halle cautioned that during election periods, many politicians pretend to like journalists. He said some pretend to be generous by squeezing small banknotes into the hands of journalists they claim they like, whereas their real intention is to manipulate or use the journalists for their interests, and dump them after the elections. Halle said a journalist who wants to live in affluence will be tempted to get involve in corruption and thus practice bad journalism. He argued that though the person may be happy that he is living in affluence, the fact however is that he has built a bad legacy that he will leave behind.

Peace Has No Price – “Remember Rwanda 1994”

Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, who has been a Peace Crusader for over 30 years, laid much emphasis on the need for journalists that will cover the October 12, 2025 presidential election in Cameroon, to embrace peace, and avoid the promotion of violence and hate speech in any form.  To him, violence is the weapon of the weak, while peace is the weapon of the strong. Halle stressed that journalists have the responsibility as good or patriotic citizens, to preserve peace by avoiding tribalism, propaganda, provocation, recklessness, and especially hate speech, in doing their work. Halle painfully recalled the damage that a journalist in the height of recklessness, viciousness and folly, coupled with the irresponsibility of his media house, caused to Rwanda in particular and Africa at large in 1994, as the hate speech he propagated in his reports, sparked ethnic cleansing, or led to genocide.

Barrister Nico Halle stated that there are already many problems that Cameroonians are facing, and that there is already much tension over controversies in this election period, and prayed journalist not to add fuel to the flame with reckless reporting or the use of hate speech. “Always remember what happened in Rwanda in 1994; the Rwandan genocide”, he urged journalists.

The Peace Crusader, Nico Halle, preached the doctrine of non – violence, and stressed the importance for all journalist, considering especially the nature of their job, to nurture a spirit of non – violence. He once more reiterated that that peace or non– is the weapon of the strong, while violence is the weapon of the weak. He paid homage to the memories of great world leaders like Mahamat Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, among others, who even in the face of all odds, stood for non – violence

Bad Politics In Play

Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle said politics, or better still good politics, is the science of Love, of Truth. But he said it is unfortunate that the politics that is being generally practiced across the world today is something else, for it has nothing to do with Love or Truth. He said there are lots of insults or invectives, lies, bad faith, intimidation, blackmail, corruption, lack of patriotism, and hate speech in politics these days. He observed with much concern that despite condemnations, hate speech is on the rise in the societies, and that many politicians unfortunately condemn hate speech in public , but promote it  behind the scene.

Still on politics, Nico Halle reechoed his view that while Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as “Government of The People, by The People, And for The People, democracy in practical terms has unfortunately become, “Government of Some People, By Some People, And For Some People”.

 The Rule Of Law, Or The Love Of Law – “The Rule Of Law Has Failed”.

Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, the Crusader for Peace and Justice, who is as well a Crusader against Corruption, Embezzlement, Hate Speech and Xenophobia, remarked that the Rule of Law has failed the world over. He explained that is why there is chaos, crisis or wars all over the place. He pointed out that the problem is not the absence of Law, as all countries have laws. He noted that each country has a constitution and several other Laws, degrees, texts and so on. So he asserted that the problem, across Africa and the world at large, is not the absence of Laws. He explained that the problem is rather the non – implementation or the non-respect of laws.  “The Laws are there, but the problem in many countries the world over, is either the non – implementation or the non- respect of the Laws, or both. The Rule of Law has failed the world over, and that is why we see crisis or conflicts all over the place”, Halle declared.

Halle said those who indulge in election rigging, corruption or embezzlement of public funds for example, do not do so there are no Laws that prohibit these malpractices, He said these ills continue to exist because many people do not respect the laws. Turning to the Wouri Divisional Delegate of ELECAM, Dorothee Eyango, Barrister Nico Halle pointed out that according to the Electoral Law in Cameroon, campaigns for the presidential election starts 15 days to the day of the election.  Campaigns for the October 12, 2025 presidential election is thus supposed to officially start on September 27. But Halle remarked that all political parties, that have candidates in the October 12 presidential election, have since started their campaigns with rallies here and there, and in total violation of the Law.

The Rule Of LOVE, Or The Law Of LOVE

Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle stated that the reason for all the crisis or disorder, happening across the world, is that instead of embracing the Law of Love or the Rule of Love, Governments and the people focus instead on the Love of the Law.  He emphasized on the fact that Love is the greatest commandment in the Bible, and that Love is the foundation on which the Rule of Law can actualized. “The Laws of a country can only be impacting, if there is the Rule of Love in that country. Takeaway the Rule of Love in a society, and nothing works. So the Rule of Law can only be impacting, if there is the Rule of Love”, Halle declared.

Nico Halle reiterated that Love is the core moral value which serves as a foundation for all other core moral values, for when there is Love, all other core moral values like Honesty, Accountability, Peace, Justice, Transparency, Patriotism, Equity among others, fall in place. He asserted that when there is Love in the society, or better still, when there is he Rule or Love or the Law of Love in a society or country, people Love each other, and so there is no room for hate speech, and there is no room for tribalism. He said when there is Love or the Rule of Love in the country, people Love their country, and so are patriotic, and will thus not embezzle or steal public funds that belongs to the country and all its citizens. He added that when there is Love in the society and Love for the country, there is no corruption, and there is also no election rigging.  Halle went on to assert that when there is Love in the country, there is peace or peaceful coexistence, and also that when there is Love, or  better still when there is the Rule of Love in a country, there is transparency, accountability, mutual respect,  and so on.

The Crusader for Core Moral Values, Sir Dr Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, thus insisted that the only way out for countries across the world, is for the governments and people to strive to embrace Love, that is, the Rule of Love or the Law of Love. He quoted Mathew 22:37 – 39: “Love God, With All Your Heart, With All Your Soul, And With All Your Strength. Love Your Neighbour, As Yourself”.