1, February 2023
Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o affair: Former Minister of Defense sentenced to 30 years in jail 0
The Special Criminal Court sentenced former minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o to thirty years in jail for engaging in massive fraud during his time at the head of the defense ministry.
The Francophone Beti Ewondo political figure was charged with organizing, directing and engaging in criminal activity. The Special Criminal Court jury dominated by judges from his Beti tribal extraction announced that the list of offenses included embezzlement of public funds, specifically the over-invoicing of public contracts to the tune of 23 billion CFA francs, money laundering, bribery and taking an interest in an anti Biya act.
The Mebe Ngo’o imprisonment did not trigger any mixed political feeling and thoughts in Yaoundé the nation’s capital. A co-accused, Bernadette Mebe Ngo’o who continues to moonlight as the wife of the former Minister of Defense was also sentenced to ten years in prison for complicity in the embezzlement of 5 billion CFA francs and money laundering.
Lieutenant-Colonel Elie Ghislain Mboutou and Maxime Léonard Mbangue each received 25 years in prison. They were also found guilty of embezzlement of public funds, money laundering and corruption.
By some strange happenstance, one of the defendants, Victor Emmanuel Menye, received nine years in prison. Initially, prosecutors at the Special Criminal Court had requested life imprisonment.
The so-called Biya’s next-of-kin was found not guilty concerning suspicion of embezzlement in the purchase of helicopters and patrol boats in China.
Mebe Ngo’o’s lawyers say he remains a political prisoner.
By Rita Akana in Yaoundé
3, February 2023
Murder charge to be laid against media tycoon Amougou Belinga arrested over death of journalist Zogo 0
Amougou Belinga was arrested yesterday in Yaoundé and will be charged with murder over the death of journalist Martinez Zogo, whose body was found in a field outskirts of Yaoundé.
Yaoundé police said the late journalist was found with multiple injuries caused by several sharp-edged type weapons.
Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that Amougou Belinga was detained by secret service agents and is currently under guard at the Secretariat of State for Defense (SED).
Our chief intelligence reporter in the nation’s capital hinted that the so-called media guru will be charged with murder.
It is understood he was arrested late in the evening and is now remanded in custody. He will face state prosecutors today.
Tributes flow after tragic death
Police were called to the field some few kilometers from Yaoundé after some passersby discovered the body of journalist Martinez Zogo.
Zogo was pronounced dead by emergency services shortly after, with colleagues, family and friends saying they believed he had been killed following statements he made against prominent government officials including business and media tycoon Amougou Belinga.
The alleged homicide of Martinez Zogo in Yaoundé has sent shockwaves through the entire nation and the media community, with friends remembering the radio host as someone who never stopped smiling.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Rita Akana