Martinez Zogo Trial: questions over missing phone linked to Amougou Belinga ⁰

The disappearance of a phone attributed to businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga returned to the center of the Martinez Zogo case on September 15, 2026. A senior gendarmerie official told the Yaoundé Military Court that investigators tried to recover the device because it could provide direct access to communications between Amougou Belinga and Justin Danwe, the former operations director of Cameroon’s external intelligence service.

Lieutenant Colonel Dieudonné Bialo, head of the National Gendarmerie’s Central Judicial Investigations Service (SCRJ), appeared as the prosecution’s 35th witness and detailed the efforts made to locate the phone. His testimony again brought the name of Melissa Amougou Belinga, the businessman’s wife, into the proceedings.

Phone and SIM Card Had Stopped Transmitting

According to Bialo, investigators established that both the phone and its SIM card had stopped transmitting signals on mobile networks.

“Our service reported that this phone had stopped transmitting, both through the SIM card and the phone’s IMEI,” he told the court. Under questioning from Félicité Zeifman, a lawyer representing Martinez Zogo’s beneficiaries, Bialo described the investigation into the device.

The search reportedly led investigators to a man described as close to a domestic employee of the Amougou Belinga household after his SIM card was found in the phone they were looking for. Investigators subsequently examined the employee’s role and Melissa Amougou Belinga’s alleged involvement in the device’s movements.

Investigators Sought Communications With Justin Danwe

Bialo said recovering the phone was particularly important because Danwe allegedly communicated with Amougou Belinga through the number associated with the device.

According to his testimony, investigators tracked the number to locations that corresponded with some of Danwe’s movements.

Bialo also recalled that Danwe had said he sent Amougou Belinga videos through the phone that showed violence inflicted on Zogo.

“Without being a fortune teller, and based on those statements, it was necessary for that phone to be handed over to investigators,” Bialo told the court.

The device could therefore have provided investigators with direct access to some of the communications attributed to Amougou Belinga. Its continued absence has prevented experts from examining that material directly.

Bialo Says Melissa Amougou Belinga Should Have Been Detained for Questioning

Asked what investigators should have done after efforts to recover the phone failed, Bialo said they should have requested Melissa Amougou Belinga’s detention for questioning. The missing device has surfaced repeatedly during the trial. In June 2026, cybercrime expert Georges Bell Bitjoka confirmed before the court that investigators had not recovered the phone attributed to Amougou Belinga and allegedly used for some exchanges with Danwe.

Investigators instead recovered some of the messages from Danwe’s devices. In July, Colonel Jean-Pierre Otoulou also testified about investigators’ unsuccessful search for an iPhone and the alleged involvement of people within Amougou Belinga’s family and household.

No Judicial Finding Against Melissa Amougou Belinga

Melissa Amougou Belinga, born Melissa Etoundi Nsoe, is the businessman’s third wife. She is the daughter of Colonel Raymond Etoundi Nsoe, a former commander of Cameroon’s Presidential Guard who was himself detained in February 2023 during the initial investigation into people close to Amougou Belinga.

The testimony presented in court does not establish that Melissa Amougou Belinga bears responsibility for the phone’s disappearance. That question has not been judicially determined.

The testimony instead provides further details about investigators’ efforts to locate a device they considered important to the case. Its absence continues to prevent experts from directly examining some of the communications attributed to Amougou Belinga.

Source: Sbbc