L'Expression de Mamy-Wata, often referred to as simply Mamy-Wata, is a weekly satirical

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 published in Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

 by the media company La Nouvelle Expression. The paper is written in French peppered with loan words from Cameroonian Pidgin English

Cameroonian Pidgin English

Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole, is a language variety of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok . Five varieties are currently recognised:...

. In 1999, it had a weekly circulation

Newspaper circulation

A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Circulation is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the...

 of 4,000 copies. On 4 January 1999, Cameroonian police confiscated from 2,000 to 2,500 copies of Mamy-Wata in Douala

Douala

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...

. La Nouvelle Expression reported that the papers were taken in response to a cartoon in the 29 December issue that depicted Cameroon's president, Paul Biya

Paul Biya

Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...

, in a spat with his wife. Reports differ on whether the police ever provided an offiical justification for the seizure; the Committee to Protect Journalists

Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...

 reported that none was provided, but the International Press Institute

International Press Institute

International Press Institute is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. Founded in October 1950, the IPI has members in over 120 countries....

reported that authorities claimed the newspapers were a "breach of public order". Scholar George Echu has claimed that the incident added Mamy-Wata to "the pantheon of Africa's satricial heavyweights."