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Pius Njawe, United States/Cameroon, is the founder/editor of Le Messager, the oldest independent newspaper in Cameroon.

, United States/Cameroon

Njawe became West Africa’s youngest editor and publisher when he founded the newspaper at 22. Njawe has been arrested over 30 times for his newspaper’s independent and sometimes critical reporting. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 1997 for reporting that President Paul Biya had experienced a minor heart attack during a soccer match. In 2000, Njawe was named one of the “50 World Press Freedom Heroes” of the last half century by the International Press Institute, and he won the World Newspaper Association’s Golden Pen of Freedom in 1993. In 1991, he received the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award and was the first winner of the Free Expression Award of the International Union of French-Speaking Journalists. He is the chairman of the Union of Central African Private Press Editors and also chairs the Cameroonian Organization for Press Freedom. Njawe is also a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for Press Freedom and on the jury of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Award. Njawe taught in the journalism departments of Western Washington University and North Texas University in the United States in 2000 and 2001.