Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism will welcome Cameroonian journalist and author Haman Mana as a visiting 2023-2024 faculty member, the school announced Tuesday.

Mana, the publisher of one of Cameroon’s largest newspapers Le Jour, was forced to flee the country in early February following the paper’s investigation into corruption and influence peddling by the Cameroonian government and media mogul Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga.

Another journalist who reported on the same topics as Mana, director of radio station Amplitude FM Martinez Zogo, was abducted and killed following his reporting.

Zogo warned Mana in January that they were both in danger of being retaliated against for their stories, the release said. According to Mana, a few days before Zogo was abducted, Zogo told him, “After they kill me, they will kill you.” Zogo’s body was discovered in late January.

The nonprofit organization Committee to Protect Journalists brought Mana’s case to Medill’s attention. In July, CPJ, Freedom House and the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights submitted a press freedom report to the United Nations calling for the protection of journalists in Cameroon. CPJ is investigating the deaths of two other journalists in addition to Zogo.

“Without a safe and free press, there is no accountability for those in power,” Medill Dean Charles Whitaker said in the release.

Medill will fund Mana’s position for the upcoming year in partnership with the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, the School of Communication, the Holthues Trust and an anonymous donor.

Mana will continue running Le Jour from Evanston while at Medill and use University resources to work on a book about Cameroon’s transition away from democracy. He will also share his journalism experience with NU students, according to the release.

“After 35 years of journalism and advocating for democracy and human rights, I want to share my experiences with the world,” Mana said in the release.

Correction: A previous headline for this article misspelled Haman Mana’s name. The Daily regrets the error.

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