Souley onohiolo shaving ceremony set for july 3 after eight-month protest

a committee has announced the official shaving operation for journalist Souley Onohiolo, called “operation drop the beard”, ending an eight-month wait for a government reshuffle.

the journalist had made a bet: he would not shave until President Paul Biya, re-elected on 12 October 2026, changed the cabinet that has been in place since 2019.

“the president of the organising committee for the ‘big shave Souley Onohiolo’ project informs national and international media that on Friday 3 July 2026 at 12 noon, at the BOTANIK’S beauty centre (a service provider) located in the Essos district of Yaoundé, the official ceremony of ‘drop the beard’ of Souley Onohiolo, eminent journalist, senior reporter and editorialist, will take place,” the committee’s statement said.

according to the organising committee, the shaving ceremony will be held “under the high patronage and general supervision of Dieudonné Mveng Balla, promoter of Info TV”.

they described it as “a unique and unprecedented event that will bring together the cream of the media from Cameroon and the world, around a man whose personal and silent revolt spanned eight months of hair commitment – a forest of beard and untrimmed head – to become a republican struggle.”

ultimately, Souley Onohiolo has resigned himself to shaving after having kept his pledge for eight months with no sign of a government reshuffle. it is therefore out of sheer weariness that the journalist has decided to part with his hair.

“more than that, a symbol of resistance, a badge of civic engagement and a firm will to impact society – to move the lines. it is this story that the ceremony on 3 July will close, in the presence of the press and under the eyes of those who followed, from near or far, this singular epic,” the organising committee added.