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The long-announced shaving of journalist Souley Onohiolo will finally take place on Friday, July 3, 2026, under the name “Operation Tomber la barbe” — a protest that lasted eight months while the country awaited a long-rumoured government reshuffle.
Souley Onohiolo had vowed not to shave until President Paul Biya, re-elected on October 12, 2025, changed the cabinet that has remained in place since 2019. Now, the veteran journalist and editorialist is ready to cut his beard and untrimmed hair.
“The President of the Organising Committee for Project ‘Rasage Big Souley Onohiolo’ informs the national and international press that on Friday, July 3, 2026, at 12 noon, at the Botanik’s Beauty Centre in the Essos neighbourhood of Yaoundé, the official ‘Tomber la barbe’ ceremony for Souley Onohiolo, Emeritus Journalist, Senior Reporter and Editorialist, will take place,” says the committee’s statement.
The ceremony will be held under the high patronage and general supervision of Dieudonné Mveng Balla, promoter of the Info TV channel. According to the committee, the event will bring together leading figures from Cameroon’s media and beyond, gathering around a man whose quiet personal rebellion has become a symbol of civic engagement.
After eight months of waiting with no sign of a cabinet reshuffle, Souley Onohiolo has finally decided to end his protest. The shaving marks the end of a period during which his beard and unshorn head stood for resistance and a demand for political change.
“More than a mere haircut, this ceremony is a symbol of resistance, a mark of citizen commitment, and a firm will to make society move. It is this story that the July 3 ceremony will close, in the presence of the press and under the eyes of those who followed this singular epic from near or far,” adds the organising committee.
