Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, National Communication Council Suspended Vision 4 TV For One Month. On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Vision 4 Dragged NCC To The Administrative Court, And Late On Thursday, October 1, The Court Annulled The Decision Of NCC. But NCC Immediately Filed An Appeal. On Friday, October 2, The Court Accepted The Appeal, and Thus The One Month Suspension, Stayed On.
The long strained relationship between Cameroon’s media watchdog, the National Communication Council (NCC), and Vision 4 TV Yaounde, part of ‘Groupe L’Anecdote ‘ ( Anecdote Media Group), of incarcerated media mogul, Jean – Pierre Amougou Belinga, took quite some dramatic turns last week. Early in the week, NCC made public a disciplinary measure, suspending Vision 4 TV for a period of one month. Vision 4 as is the tradition contested the decision, and resolved to rag NCC to court. Vision 4 obtained a court judgment that annulled the sanction. But while Vision 4 guys were celebrating what they considered as victory over NCC, the, Council bounced back with another court decision, that maintained the sanction on Vision 4.
The Unfolding Of The Drama
The 48th Extraordinary Session of the National Communication Council (NCC) wrapped up in the nation’s capital, Yaounde, on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The NCC made public a series of disciplinary measures, taken against some media houses and journalists. As regard ‘Groupe L’Anecdote’, Vision 4 TV Channel was hit with a one month suspension by NCC, which also suspended the Managing Director, Boney Menyene Philippe, a journalist by profession, for a one month period. This meant the suspension of Boney Philippe from practicing journalism in Cameroon, for a period of one month. It would be recalled that Boney Philippe last March slammed a one month suspension by NCC. It should as well be noted that though this senior journalist is known in the media and the public as Boney, the real name is BONI ( Boni Manyene Philippe).
Meanwhile, Jean Claude Fouda Abega, the Publisher of the French language newspaper, ‘ L’ Anecdote ‘, which is part of ‘Groupe L’Anecdote’, was also slammed a one month suspension by NCC, because of some highly controversial contents of some of the newspaper / Another journalist of ‘Groupe L’Anecdote’, Martial Thaddee Owona, saw a sanction of thee month suspension that NCC slammed on him a few months ago, and which he ignored or failed to respect, increased to six months. This meant Owona was on September 29 suspended from practicing journalism in Cameroon for six months. Owona’s problem with NCC followed a complaint that was filed at the Council against him, by Barrister Felicite Esther Zeifman, for some really horrible things he said he said about the lady, in a report over Vision 4 TV.
Vision 4 TV Goes To Court
Meanwhile, following the sanctions or decisions, that, were made public by the National Communication Council on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, suspending Vision 4 TV of ‘Group L’Anecdote” for one month, the media organ filed a case at the Administrative Court of the Centre Region in Yaounde, the very next day, that is, Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The case was registered in court by the Court Registrar as: “Affaire Boni Menyeme Philippe et Owona Thaddee Martial contre Etat du Cameroon (CNC)”. That is, “Boni Mnyene Phillpe and Owona Thaddee Martial, against the State of Cameroon (NCC) Affair”.
So the case filed against the National Communication Council, which is a State Institution, was registered by the judiciary as a case against the State of Cameroon, represented by NCC.
Meanwhile in a decision taken on Thursday, October 1, 2026, the Administrative Court, or better still, a Judge of the court who handled the matter, Aissatou Abdoulaye Oumarou (Interim President of the court), ordered the lifting of NCC sanctions by Ordinance No.048/ OSE/ CAB/ PTA/ Yaounde .That is, the court or judge ruled for a stay of execution of the sanctions that NCC slammed on Vision 4 TV, as well as against the three journalists of the Anecdote Media Group. Stay of execution meant that the court ordered that the sanctions should not be executed.
There was celebration at ‘Groupe L’Anecdote’, especially at Vision 4 TV, for having floored the National Communication Council.
NCC Immediately Filed Appeal Against The Decision / Court Grants NCC’s Appeal
But the celebration or party at Vision 4 on Friday, October 2, 2026 did not last for long, as NCC bounced back with an uppercut that spoiled the party. What happened was that immediately the Administrative Court on Thursday, October 1, so rapidly and so surprisingly ruled for the lifting of the sanctions that the National Communication Council slammed on Vision 4, the Council that represented the State of Cameroon, though its lawyer, Barrister Eteme Eteme of Memong –Eteme & Co Law Firm, immediately filed an appeal at the Administrative Bench of the court, against the decision. NCC’s appeal was for the stay of execution of the sanctions that were slammed on Vision 4, and some of its journalists.
Then before the end of Friday, October 2, 2026, the Administrative Bench of the count granted NCC’s appeal, as contained in the document, “POUVOI No. 056 / 2026 du 02 Octobre 2026”, that was signed by the Court Registrar, Evindi Yves Sylvain, in the case, “Affaire Boni Menyene Philippe et Owona Thaddee Martial contre Etat du Cameroun’. By accepting the appeal, it meant that the court was ready to take time to really examine the matter.
Stay Of Execution Lifted
According to the President of the National Communication Council, Joe Chebongkeng Kalabubsu, the granting of NCC’s appeal, meant that Vision 4 had to apply or respect the sanctions, that is, the one month suspension that the Council slammed on the media organ on September 29, 2026. “In other words, the stay of execution ordered by the Administrative Court (on Thursday, October 1, 2026) has been lifted”, the NCC President has explained. It should be noted that according to court documents, the decision that was taken late on Thursday, October 1 by the Interim President of the Administrative Court in Yaounde, was officially registered in the morning of October 2.
The decision was later that same day, shelved, following the court’s acceptance of the appeal filed by the State of Cameroon represented by the National Communication Council, through its lawyer, Eteme Eteme. The acceptance of the appeal that was filed by Barrister Eteme Eteme , meant that the case, Boni Menyeme Philippe and Owona Thaddee Martial, against the State of Cameroon (NCC), was still in court.
Vision 4 Digital
Meanwhile following the suspension of the signal of Vision 4 TV, from the bouquet of Canal + Cameroun, following the sanction, one month suspension, that was slammed by the National Communication Council on the TV channel, the TV channel (Vision 4) was in defiance operating on digital (Vision 4 Digital). They ran all their daily programmes on Vision 4 Digital, and posted the videos of some of the programmes on the social media , which included sharing on whatsApp, Last Sunday, October 4, 2026 for example, the video of one of the flagship programmes of Vision 4 TV, ‘CLUB D’ELITES’, was shared on social media to enable those who did not, and could not watch on Vision 4 Digital, to watch the programme. It was also another form of defiance, to show that that Vision 4 was still functioning, despite the suspension, or despite all odds.
Vision 4 TV’s Signal Reinstated
Meanwhile on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, that is, one week into the one month suspension of Vision 4 TV by NCC, Canal + Cameroun reinstated the signal of the TV Channel. This followed an intervention by the Minister of Communications, Rene Emmanuel Sadi.
