Cameroon: DGRE at the heart of a black market for intelligence, according to Jeune Afrique

Cameroon's General Directorate for External Research (DGRE), once a feared institution, is going through a period of fragility marked by worrying excesses. According to an investigation by Jeune Afrique, the agency has become the scene of a black market where confidential information is sold for payment. This situation reveals a concerning privatization of this state apparatus, which is supposed to ensure national security but has now been diverted for private ends.

According to revelations by François Soudan, editorial director of Jeune Afrique, during an appearance on RFI, it is possible to obtain intelligence reports for paltry sums. For less than 25,000 CFA francs, or about 40 euros, agents can provide detailed data on private communications. This illicit trade attracts a variety of profiles, ranging from businessmen to political actors, seeking to gain advantages or harm their opponents.

This degradation of intelligence services is taking place against a backdrop of intense political tensions at the top of the state. President Paul Biya's entourage is plagued by a war of clans that is weakening institutions. These maneuvers are crystallizing around the question of succession at the head of the country, involving in particular the First Lady, Chantal Biya, and the head of state's eldest son, Franck Biya, the latter benefiting from the support of Samuel Mvondo Ayolo.

The investigation by Yves Plumey Bobo, special envoy to Yaoundé, highlights the precariousness of DGRE agents, which contributes to this drift. The institution, once feared by opponents, today seems drained of its resources and its substance. This transformation into a tool of pressure accessible to the highest bidder raises questions about the protection of citizens' privacy and the integrity of Cameroonian state structures in the face of the personal ambitions of certain actors.

Our perspective

The transformation of an intelligence service into a private service agency illustrates a deep crisis of governance. For African citizens, the sovereignty of a state rests on the integrity of its institutions. When the security apparatus is instrumentalized by clans for power struggles, it is the trust of the population in their leaders and their right to protection that are directly flouted.