men Cameroon, one of the most popular radio talk shows Congestionbroadcast on the private radio station Amplitude FM, anchored by Mbani Zogo Arsène Salomon, better known as Martinez Zogo or “The Maestro”
On January 17, reports began to abduct Zogo. He disappeared for five days before his naked body was found on the outskirts of the capital Yaoundé.
Rene Emmanuel Sadi, Cameroon’s communications minister, said Zogo’s body showed signs of torture. Autopsy results provided by the family showed the extent of the injuries, including a broken leg and missing fingers.
Zogo has a reputation as an outspoken critic of private and public sector malfeasance. At the time of his death, he was investigating business tycoon and media guru Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga.
In one of the last broadcasts, Zogo claimed to have incriminating evidence detailing how Belinga and his allies in the government have allegedly syphoned billions of CFA francs from state coffers. This is not the first time Zogo has upset the powerful. He had previously been suspended from the air and jailed as a result of his critical comments.
Another journalist, Samuel Wazizi, was arrested and detained in August 2019 for criticizing the government’s handling of separatist insurgencies in the English-speaking northwest and southwest. He later reportedly died in custody, but his family has yet to see his body.
“Press freedom in Cameroon is controversial,” said Charlie Aimé Tchouemou, editor-in-chief of Amplitude FM.
President Paul Biya created a commission to investigate the murder. According to the secretary general in the presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, it has led to several arrests and many others are still being sought. His identity has not been released.
Reporters Without Borders announced the arrest of about 20 members of Cameroon’s General Directorate of External Investigations, including its head, Maxime Eko Eko, and director of special operations, Justin Danwe. Remember, newspaper owner Anecdotes and Vision 4 TV channel, and his wife was also arrested.
‘Killed like a pig’
Zogo’s wife, Diane, has written a letter to Biya and other world leaders asking for justice and protection for her family. “My husband was killed like a pig, let justice take its course.” Zogo’s family refused to accept his body until the killers were brought to justice.
Close to a month before he was killed, Zogo increasingly realized that his life was in danger, but vowed to expose those who “killed” the country. Moungou’s sister Crespence said he “used to tell me he would die for his people”.
Zogo’s friends have hope because the investigation was ordered by the president, that his killer will be brought to justice. But the commission has a difficult task, amid allegations that senior government officials were complicit in the killings.
On March 4, the state prosecutor presented several charges against them, and placed them in pre-trial detention at Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaoundé. The main detainees are Maxine Eko Eko, Justin Danwe and Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga. The charges ranged from kidnapping and torture to complicity in kidnapping and torture, but no one was charged with murder.
Since Zogo’s death, Equinoxe Television, a private TV station in Cameroon, started its 8pm program with a tribute to him.
This article first appeared on Continenta pan-African weekly newspaper produced in partnership with Mail & Guardians. It is designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Download your free copy here