Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Arnaud Nicolas MAWEL
Published on 2024-03-13 11:54:11
The reduction of age denounced within football clubs is a problem that affects other sectors of Cameroonian society.
62 players from the local championship have just been suspended for age fraud. Some names like Nathan Douala, who was selected for the national team for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, are mentioned due to the international consequences of the decision. His age of 17 had already sparked controversy in January. Even though his club defends him by suggesting a possible mistake on the part of the federation, it is known that the phenomenon of falsifying ages is widespread and not new.
In Cameroon, many citizens who were born only once like any human being have multiple birth years in official documents. These individuals fall into three categories. First, there are those whose parents, for one reason or another, did not declare the birth to the authorities to establish a birth certificate. Due to this oversight, most of them, when trying to make things right, take advantage in front of the civil registry officer to reduce the age of the child in question.
Secondly, some individuals, realizing the delay in their educational progress, decide at the end of primary or secondary school or even during their studies, to lower their age. This category of people often takes official exams more than once. The first time with their original identity acquired at birth, and subsequent times with a new, temporary identity acquired based on the circumstances.
The third category of individuals, which is not far from the second, reduces the number of years after birth upon realizing that with their actual age, they will not be able to achieve certain goals. For example, a young person who aspires to join the Armed Forces or the Police. Realizing they won’t be old enough to apply for the exam, they find a way to reduce their age. This also happens in football, where young players tend to lower their age by several years. Another technique is to use the birth certificate of a younger sibling or deceased acquaintance.
As a result, counterfeit birth certificates with false ages circulate in the country. People manage to secure employment with these false ages, both in the public and private sectors. This phenomenon thrives with the involvement of parents, the young individuals concerned, with the complicity of certain civil registry officers, or thanks to favoritism and tolerance that characterize administrations.
Read the original article(French) on Journal du Cameroun
