On March 13, 2021, social media posts announced the death of Gervais Mendo Ze, former director-general of state-run broadcasting media CRTV. The posts were widely shared before finally being deleted. However, the information was picked up by some online news websites, yet the information was unfounded.

"He is alive, I was with him yesterday [Sunday, March 14]," was the reply when we contacted one of his family members on phone today March 15.

The source added that although Gervais Mendo Ze is currently ill, he is not in a coma, as some people claim. The information was also refuted by La Voix du cénacle, the renowned choir founded by Gervais Mendo Ze in 1992.  "Unlike what some [Whatsapp] statuses claim, Prof. Gervais Mendo Ze is not dead. Let's pray for his recovery!" the choir wrote on its Facebook page.

Let’s also note that the claims about his death were not backed by local media, including the CRTV that he headed for 16 years (1989-2005). This hoax on Gervais Mendo Ze was prompted by the photos that emerged recently showing him emaciated and lying on a hospital bed. Indeed, the former DG has been under care for about one year now.  

Gervais Mendo Ze was jailed on November 12, 2014, at Kondengui central prison. In 2019, he was sentenced by the special criminal court to 20 years imprisonment for embezzlement of public funds while managing CRTV.

Besides being the director-general of CRTV, he has also been Minister Delegate to the Minister of Communication. He is also known as a director, university professor, and associate professor of French stylistics. Thanks to the hit song "Asimba,"  he contributed to the popularization of choral music as a musical genre in Cameroon.  

P.N.N