A leading Cameroonian human rights lawyer, Barrister Edward Ewule Lyonga, has been awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Law for presenting research that calls for the abolition of the death penalty in Cameroon.
The defence took place on Thursday, May 15, 2026, at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Buea, where he completed a rigorous academic examination lasting several hours before a panel of legal scholars.
The thesis challenges capital punishment.
In his doctoral thesis, Lyonga argued that the continued use of the death penalty in Cameroon is increasingly incompatible with international human rights standards and constitutional protections of the right to life.
He maintained that capital punishment is widely regarded by international institutions as a cruel practice and said Cameroon risks falling behind regional and global reform trends by retaining it in law.
Although the country has not executed since 1997, he warned that the courts continue to impose death sentences, keeping the punishment active within the justice system.
Death row figures and legal concerns
The research estimates that around 220 prisoners remain on death row in Cameroon. Among recent cases cited is that of Dagobert Nwafo, who was sentenced in connection with a high-profile child murder case earlier this year. Barrister Lyonga also pointed to convictions arising from the 2020 attack on schoolchildren in Kumba as evidence that capital punishment remains in active judicial use.
The law still provides for execution.
Cameroon’s legal code still allows for the death penalty for offences including murder, terrorism, treason, espionage, and secession. These provisions remain in the Criminal Code, the Anti-Terrorism Law, and the Military Justice Code.
Call for abolition
Following the successful defence, Lyonga urged authorities to move towards abolition, citing regional developments in Central Africa. “We are calling on the state of Cameroon to abolish the death penalty. The Central African Republic has abolished the death penalty. So we can do that,” he said.
His research is expected to further intensify debate among legal experts and human rights advocates over whether Cameroon should formally end capital punishment after nearly three decades without executions.
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