Articles by Yannick Kenné

Yannick Kenné is a Cameroonian journalist based in Yaoundé who writes about economics and sports. He is passionate about investigative journalism and has embarked on reports and investigations on the environment, mining, human rights and sustainable development.

Activist Emmanuel Elong at the foot of an ancestral tomb on the sacred site of Bayong Mbonjo. Photo by Yannick Kenné.

Palm oil giant hands over sacred community land for reforestation project

by Yannick Kenné 4 May 2023

MBONJO, Cameroon — Felled palm trees litter the ground at the entrance to Mbonjo, a town at the heart of Cameroun’s palm oil and rubber-producing region. Mbonjo hosts palm groves…

A mining pit transformed into an artificial lake after a mining company’s semi-mechanized operations. Image © Yannick Kenné.

Treacherous pits and lakes left in the wake of Cameroon’s abandoned mining sites

by Yannick Kenné 24 February 2023

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – A ruined mining site rests at the heart of the village of Akak I, nestled on the outskirts of Cameroon's capital Yaoundé. This quarry site is no…

The dilapidated home of Ambroise Ondoa, local leader from Nkol-Bifouan, damaged by vibrations from the Febe village quarry. Image © Yannick Kenné.

Tense neighbors: Chinese quarry in Cameroon takes a toll on locals

by Yannick Kenné 24 January 2023

FEBE, Cameroon — In Febe, just six kilometres (about four miles) from Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, a stone quarry overlooks a mountain slope and the bustling life of the village. Twice…

A Gbaya farmer in Mbanti-Mbang, on land left unscathed by the agro-industrial project / Image © Yannick Kenné.

To replace Western food imports, Cameroon gives community lands to ‘no-name’ agro-industry

by Yannick Kenné 1 December 2022

TIBATI, Cameroon – In Mbanti-Mbang village, Joseph Adamou and his family are living in fear. Living in the Tibati district located nearly 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) north of Cameroon’s capital…

Saliou Hassana, a 17-year-old gold miner, extracting and collecting gold nuggets using mercury at Kambélé III. Image © Yannick Kenné.

About 72% of gold miners poisoned with mercury at artisanal mining sites in Cameroon

by Yannick Kenné 29 November 2022

BATOURI, Cameroon – At Kambélé III, an artisanal mining site in the commune of Batouri, located 415 kilometers (268 miles) east of Yaoundé, Cameroon's capital, male, female, teenage, and child…

Fishmongers in the Ndji village market get by with very little. Image by Yannick Kenné.

“Largest of its kind” dam in Cameroon faces backlash from unimpressed fishmongers

by Yannick Kenné 13 October 2022

NDJI, Cameroon – Batchenga, 65 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, is slowly reopening. After serving as a ramp at the start of a national road linking the…