Three days after the publication and withdrawal of a photoshopped photograph at the Presidential website showing President Paul Biya genuflecting in front of slain Cameroonian soldiers at the military headquarters in Yaoundé, the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma, has laid the blame on internet pirates and hackers saying they tampered with the Presidential website.
The government spokesman said in a press release read on state radio and television that the photo montage was the handiwork of a hacker, adding that the image was intended to harm the honour and dignity of the Head of State and the Cameroon army.
The concocted picture sent the impression that the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces was actually present at the military headquarters to pay his last respect to soldiers who died in the war he declared against Boko Haram. But that was not the case as Biya had long left the country before the event.
Before the forged picture of Biya was removed from the website, it had sparked debates on social media with many wondering why officials at the presidential website could even think of concocting such a fraud considering that they knew there were people who were aware the President was out of the country at the time of the event.
Even after the clarification from Issa Tchiroma many are those who have waved it as mere propaganda as many of such photoshopped pictures are found on the Presidential website.
Last month, the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary made one of his media outings in which he feistily defended the point that the head of state does not need to visit wounded soldiers or pay tributes to fallen ones like his Chadian counterpart, Idriss Derby, had done during a recent visit to the country.
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