Currently, a suspicious document is circulating on social media claiming that the Cameroonian minister of sports Narcisse Mouelle Kombi is recruiting 500 young Cameroonians. The date and signature on that document seem to have been scanned thus, we decided to approach the ministry of sports to find out for sure. The verdict is final: it is fake news.

Indeed, says an official at the ministry, “it is a false document informing young people that they will be recruited by the Ministry of Sports.” Our source nevertheless acknowledges that the document appears authentic in several aspects: the signature of the communication unit of the Ministry of Sports as well as the minister’s stamp and signature. The only problem is that those signatures and stamps were scanned and pasted on the document serving as recruitment notice.  

The scammer promises young people aged 21 and above, with at least a Bachelor’s degree, that they will be responsible for: cash registers and collection, in stadiums and other sports grounds in Cameroon, assistance in supervision of sports logistics, deployment and advertising promotion of sports events, etc.

“It should, therefore, be noted that the application package containing a letter of motivation, a copy of the national identity card, and a copy of the medical certificate must be sent to the address Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser. before 27/11/19,” the document indicates.

In a statement issued on 21 November, the Minister of Sports recalled “that no recruitment has been launched by his ministerial department to this end. He then condemns the malicious acts of these lawless individuals, whose primary purpose is to abuse and defraud law-abiding citizens.”

Sylvain Andzongo