Sudden passing of Joe Mboulè

Joe Mboulé (left) at the last FIA Congress in 2012

It was with profound regret and great sadness that the International Federation of Actors learned of the sudden and untimely death of Joe Mboule.

Joe was an artist who was passionate about his work. His music vibrated with life, with joy and sweetness. It reflected well the man who has never ceased to inspire upcoming generations of singers in his country, and who, despite international renown, remained true to his humble start. Joe loved the music scene and knew it intimately and he managed to make his art his living as well. A wonderful craft, but one that is never easy: a precarious living, strewn with pitfalls.

It was this first-hand knowledge that led him to act, so that the performers in Cameroon and elsewhere might benefit from economic and social rights, to allow them to make a decent living from their craft. Joe was a trade union activist who played an important role in our Federation, where he worked to promote the recognition of the professional status of artists, their intellectual property rights and international support and solidarity. Whether speaking as President of the SCAS, the Cameroon Union of Performing Artists, or on behalf of FIA at UNESCO, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) or the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Joe was an untiring spokesman, always making an impassioned case for far-seeing cultural policy or for a full and clear understanding of the importance of the Arts and of cultural diversity in our societies.

But, more than an inspiring artist and a trade union activist, Joe was, to us all, first and foremost a true friend, whose sudden loss will be felt for a long time to come.

FIA and all its members share in the sadness of the Njoh Mboule family and extends their deepest condolences to them in these sad circumstances. 

Goodbye, Joe. And thank you.