Prominent journalist found dead after abduction in Cameroon

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - Martinez Zogo, a prominent Cameroonian journalist and the owner of a local radio station, was found dead Sunday after being kidnapped several days ago near the capital Yaounde, local media reported.

"His body was found in (a place called) Ebogo 3 (in Soa) in the early hours of Sunday after he was tortured," reported Amplitude FM, the radio station that the 51-year-old Zogo ran.

Reports said Zogo was abducted in a suburb near Yaounde on Jan. 17 and his mutilated body was found by a man on his way to a field.

Zogo's wife and a deputy prosecutor went to the scene and the body was taken to the morgue at Yaounde Central Hospital, according to Charly Tchouemou, editor of Amplitude FM.

Since Zogo’s kidnapping, the press has been outraged and is now demanding justice.

Following the announcement of his death, the National Union of Cameroonian Journalists (SNJC) called on media workers to dress in black Wednesday to mourn the “heinous crime."

Zogo’s death is "unacceptable," said Marion Obam, the head of the union, who recalled other such crimes committed against journalists in the country.

The SNJC called on the administration to "respond appropriately" to the murder and to be fully responsible for the safety of the population.

It also called on the international community to help strengthen the safety of media workers.

Minister of Communication Rene Emmanuel Sadi said Friday that the government was following the situation with all the interest it deserves.

"Instructions have been given so that all light is shed," he added, indicating that "everything is and will always be done to preserve the freedom of the press."

The tragedy comes in the context of Zogo’s exposure of alleged embezzlement by Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga, a Cameroonian businessman who owns several media outlets in Cameroon and France.

"The wealthy businessman is already on trial with journalists and a media outlet that published an open letter about corruption cases to which he is allegedly linked," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement condemning Zogo's abduction.

Recalling the beating of a Cameroonian whistleblower two days after the publication of a photo of Belinga with the country’s finance minister, to whom he is allegedly close, the organization said the safety of journalists is a real problem in Cameroon.