Journalist Souley Onohiolo’s long-awaited shave, dubbed operation tomber la barbe, finally takes place after eight months of waiting for a government reshuffle that never materialised.

The veteran journalist had vowed not to shave his beard or cut his hair until President Paul Biya, re-elected on 12 October 2026, replaced the cabinet that has been in place since 2019.

“The president of the organising committee for the ‘Big Souley Onohiolo Shave’ project informs the national and international press that on Friday, 3 July 2026 at 12:00, the official ceremony of ‘Tomber la barbe’ will take place at the Botanik’s Beauty Centre in the Essos neighbourhood of Yaoundé,” reads the committee’s statement regarding Souley Onohiolo, described as an emeritus journalist, senior reporter and editorialist.

According to the organising committee, the shaving ceremony is placed “under the high patronage and general supervision of Dieudonné Mveng Balla, promoter of Info TV television channel.”

The event is described as “a singular and unprecedented gathering of media personalities from Cameroon and around the world, centred on a man whose personal and silent revolt spanned eight months of hair commitment — a forest of beard and unshaven head — and grew into a republican struggle.”

In the end, Souley Onohiolo has accepted to shave after sticking to his pledge for eight months with no prospect of a cabinet reshuffle on the horizon. The journalist has reluctantly decided to part with his hair.

“More than that, it is a symbol of resistance, a mark 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 watch of those who followed, from near or far, this singular epic,” the organising committee added.