SUMMONS BY WHATSAPP OR TELEPHONE: IS IT LAWFUL?
“Where law ends, tyranny begins.” — William Pitt the Elder
“Come immediately to the police station. If you do not appear, we will come and get you.”
This is a message an increasing number of citizens now receive by WhatsApp, by SMS, or by phone call, often from a police officer or gendarme, and often delivered with an implicit threat. It raises a question every practitioner should be prepared to answer clearly: does this constitute a valid summons under Cameroonian law?
- The governing rule
Section 39 of Law No. 2005/007 of 27 July 2005 (Criminal Procedure Code) defines notification as bringing a legal instrument to the knowledge of the person concerned, and requires that it be done through administrative channels in particular by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or by a Judicial Police Officer who draws up a report of the action taken.
Two things follow from this:
Notification must take a recognised, formal channel.
It must be documented and provable. The Code requires a written record of what was done. - Where WhatsApp and phone calls fall short
A summons issued solely through WhatsApp, SMS, or a phone call does not fit within the channels the Code contemplates. Beyond the question of form, it creates a practical problem: there is no report, no acknowledgment of receipt, nothing the prosecution could later produce to prove the person was properly called. That absence of provable service is the real vulnerability not merely that the medium is informal. - Why this matters
This is not a technicality. It touches:
Legality of procedure, investigative and procedural acts must conform to the law as written.
- Fair hearing: A person is entitled to be properly informed before being compelled to appear.
- Rights of the defence: proper notice is what allows a person time to prepare.
- Burden of proof: Where notification is contested, it falls to the prosecution to show it was validly done.
- If a warrant follows
Where a warrant (e.g., a mandat d’amener) rests on nothing more than an informal WhatsApp or phone message, that warrant is open to challenge, it can be contested for procedural defect and reviewed for want of due process. These safeguards are anchored in the Cameroonian Constitution’s guarantee of due process, and echoed in the general fair-trial protections found in regional and international human rights instruments to which Cameroon is party. - If you receive such a message
Stay calm and courteous.
Ask for formal written notification and the legal basis for the summons.
Do not ignore the message outright but do not treat it as if it were validly served either.
Get legal advice promptly.
Where appropriate, this can be raised with the State Counsel for clarification. - What law enforcement should not do
Use WhatsApp, SMS, or a phone call as a substitute for formal notification; issue threats to compel appearance; or present an informal message as though it carries the force of a validly served legal instrument.
In conclusion
Efficiency in investigations is legitimate, but it cannot come at the expense of legal safeguards. A summons that cannot be proven to have been validly served is a summons that can be challenged — and procedure exists precisely to protect that right.
This article is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on a specific matter, please contact Fonyam and Partners.
By
Banyong Fonyam Jonie Jr,
Managing Partner,
Fonyam and Partners Law Firm.