“I retain of him the image of a man of conviction, a man of principle, a man who had convictions he was willing to defend. He was someone who had a vision for human society, someone who fought for justice for all, and who was also a great defender of freedom of the press and freedom in general. A heavy burden lies on the shoulders of the staff here at the newspaper. We are aware of that burden. Now we must continue the struggle he initiated.”

– Frederic Boungou, Editor-in-Chief, Le Messager, Cameroon

“I’m really sorry; this is very sad news.” – Freedom Neruda, IPI World Press Freedom Hero, Cote d’Ivoire

“Really sad news. I sat with him on a UNESCO committee and became a great fan of his courage, his humour and his kindness. Time whips along and some of the newer people may not recall that he went to jail because of a football match. He was present at a major soccer game and noticed the president left the box for a while, came back briefly then left without presenting the trophy, as planned.  Pius checked, spoke to three doctors who had been involved in treating him, then ran a para or so next day saying the president was recovering well from a minor heart attack. He was charged with insulting the presidency and jailed.  All our organisations screamed publicly. ANPA sent a lawyer down to his hearings in Cameroon and, as I remember, helped get him out early.”

– Paddy Sherman, Publisher Emeritus, Pacific Press, IPI Fellow, Canada

“We are deeply saddened by the news of Pius Njawe’s sudden and tragic death. Pius has been working together with UNESCO for more than thirty years in the efforts to ensure freedom of expression and the development of free and independent media in Africa. He was never afraid of speaking out and embodied the very spirit of freedom of speech. He was intelligent, highly professional and a true friend. We will miss his warmth, generosity and sharp intelligence. With Pius’ death the international press freedom community has lost one of its best men. My condolences and thoughts go out to his family.”

– Mogens Schmidt, Director, Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace, UNESCO

So sad to hear of Pius Njawe’s death. I knew him through his press freedom struggle in Cameroon long before I even met him at IPI gatherings. Pius was the quintessential torch bearer of the free press campaign not just in his native land but also in Africa. I remember appending my signature to a list of numerous others to petition the Cameroonian authorities to free him as he languished in jail many years ago for daring to give his countrymen and women an independent view of how their country was being governed. Such incarcerations fortified rather than weakened his determination to trumpet the message of the free Press. Pius Njawe will leave an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of all those who struggle to make the world a better place for all of us.

– Wangethi Mwangi, Consultant at the Nation Media Group and IPI Board Member, Kenya

“I am absolutely shocked to hear of the death of Pius Njawe, a pioneering journalist and IPI Press Freedom Hero whom I have known for many years as a brave and tireless campaigner for press freedom in Africa. Pius, as the founder and editor of Le Messager in Cameroon, was arrested over 30 times for his newspaper’s independent and critical reporting in that country. I was so looking forward to meeting with him once again at the September Congress of IPI, which will honour the 60 World Press Freedom Heroes, and to share views about the current state of the media in Africa. He will be sorely missed, but leaves behind a legacy of self-sacrifice, bravery and journalistic commitment for others to emulate.

My thoughts are with his family and all those who worked closely with him. Rest in peace, Pius.”

– Gwen Lister, Editor, The Namibian and IPI World Press Freedom Hero, Namibia

I am very sad knowing that Pius Njawe died in a car accident just outside Washington DC.

I also feel regretful of not being able to see him when he came to Washington DC due to my travelling out of town, and now realizing that it would have been the last time I would see him. I have known Pius for many years since the first time I met him in Lebanon in 1999 and I can never forget the good feeling he left in me after each meeting with him. He always makes others feel joyful, self-confident and full of energy. I miss him so much and I believe we all have lost an international life-long defender of press freedom.

– Doan Viet Hoat, Ph.D., Chairman, International Institute for Vietnam and IPI World Press Freedom Hero, Vietnam

“I salute a great journalist who faced a brutal regime with enormous courage and dedication to media freedom. I first met him when he was in the dock of a Douala court awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a two-year jail sentence for “publishing false news about President Paul Biya.” I was there as an IPI and WPFC representative making a plea for a pardon which was granted six months later. He cheerfully disregarded the formality of the court proceedings droning around us and shook my hand as I leaned over the dock from the crowded public gallery and handed him a copy of the plea. On the many occasions I met with him afterwards he showed the same unflinching courage in defence of Press freedom accompanied by that boisterous sense of humour that always singled him out in company. I am deeply saddened but privileged to have known him.”

– Raymond Louw, Editor and Publisher, Southern Africa Report and IPI Fellow, South Africa

“I couldn’t be more shocked by the terrible news of the death of Pius Njawe. Pius embodied human qualities one would want in all our colleagues of the press. He was generous, kind, spontaneous, humorous, both intelligent and clever, and, above all, dedicated with moral and physical courage to truth and justice. His very presence in a room made those around him want to enter with joy in the fray for press freedom. He was not afraid to go to jail for his beliefs, and he was not afraid to speak out, even from his prison, against a dictatorial government. I had the honour to translate and distribute statements he smuggled out of his prison in Cameroon. He was an example for journalists in Africa and everywhere of a man willing literally to risk his all to advance freedom of the press. My heart goes out to his family. I will miss a dear friend. He was a very big man in every sense of the word.”
– Rony Koven, World Press Freedom Committee, United States

“The African media has lost a truly courageous individual whose bravery in the face of government intimidation served as an inspiration for other journalists in similar circumstances across the continent. The International Press Institute expresses its deepest sympathies at this particularly difficult and sad time.”

– David Dadge, Director, IPI, Austria

“I was saddened to hear about the loss of Mr. Pius Njawe. He had long contributed to press freedom as an IPI member and one of the IPI World Press Freedom Heroes.  I am deeply sorry and pray for him to rest in peace.”

– Kiyofuku Chuma, IPI Board Member, Chief Editor, the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, Japan

“To IPI Executive Director Dadge and the entire IPI Family

I feel a profound sense of loss and sadness at the most shocking news of the passing of our dear colleague, Pius Njawe, in a tragic motor accident outside Washington, D.C.,  United States of America.  I, too, am currently in the United States, in the State of Maryland, to be exact, visiting my family, and didn’t even know that Pius and I were in the same metropolitan area at this time.

His death in a car accident yesterday is the most shocking news I have heard this year.  It is really heart-rending, tragic and unfortunate that we should lose Pius at this time because, being a younger man than I, he had many miles to go in his persistent and relentless struggle for press freedom and good governance in his beloved Cameroun.  Pius loved his country so much that he was willing and ready, at any tine, to put his life on the line to save her from tyranny, bad governance and unconstitutional rule.  He was truly a World Press Hero, who deserved to be honored year after year, decade after decade, for his courageous struggle to bring freedom and true liberation to his people, and by extension, to the African continent.

I first met Pius in Windhoek, Namibia, in 1991, when he served as Chairman of the UNESCO Conference entitled, “Toward an Independent and Pluralistic Press in Africa.”  Since that time we have met at several international press gatherings, including the grand IPI ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, commemorating its 50th anniversary.  It was there that Pius was most deservedly named one of the 50 Press Heroes of the Half Century.

I  pray that other members of the staff of Pius’s newspaper, Le Mwaawnfwe, and other young journalists who have been inspired by his work, will rise up and continue the courageous, selfless and sacrificial service which Pius Njawe rendered not only to Cameroon, but to Africa and to all freedom loving people throughout the world.”

-Kenneth Y. Best, IPI World Press Freedom Hero, Liberia

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic and untimely death of Pius Njawe thousands of kilometres from home in his beloved Africa. Pius was a brave and staunch defender of press freedom in Cameroon and the continent, who nevertheless maintained a sense of optimism, cheerfulness and humour in the face of often brutal repression. I remember standing next to him in a buffet line-up during a conference shortly after he had been released from prison. He was piling his plate high with food when he turned to me with a big smile and said, “I have to fill up for the next time I’m jailed!” That was Pius – courageous, defiant, yet always positive and full of humour.”

– Michael Kudlak, Conference and Events Manager, International Press Institute (IPI)

“Unlike many Africans who are in positions where they command influence and relative power, Pius Njawe had a vision, a project and tremendous energy to reach his goals. One could agree or disagree with his philosophy, but no one could maintain that his actions had no influence on his country, and Africa as a whole. He took the issue of media freedom and human freedom very seriously. But the most striking characteristic which he demonstrated for the few times that I met him is openness of mind and his willingness to include people from all walks of life who shared his ideals for humankind. He was a universal African, not a man of today, but a citizen of tomorrow’s Africa. That is why he was not well understood by those who were peoples of the past.”

– Pr. Jean-Emmanuel Pondi, Cameroon

“C’est avec regret que nous avons appris le décès accidentel de notre ami et doyen de la presse africaine  Pius Njawe.  Il était la locomotive pour la liberté de la presse en Afrique et dans le monde au delà de son pays natal le caméroun.  A la Radio Anfani du Niger nous considérons la disparition tragique de Pius comme une grande perte pour le messager le cameroun, l’Afrique et l’IPI.  Il était héros de la liberté de presse en 2000 avec moi à Boston. Nous avons beaucoup partagé sur le rôle de la presse dans la démocratie africaine et il était pour moi une référence en matière de la presse professionnelle libre en Afrique. Que Dieu pardonne ses péchés et son corps repose en paix. Amen”

– Gremah Boukar Koura, Directeur Général de la Radio Anfani Niamey, Niger

“May his soul rest in peace. It is a tragedy but we should be consoled by the contributions he was able to make to press freedom and development in general.”

– Bilkisu Bintube, Editor, Citizen Communications, and IPI Board Member, Nigeria