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4, February 2025
Yaoundé: Journalist Martinez Zogo murder trial suspended again 0
The trial of murdered radio host Martinez Zogo has been postponed to February 24 by the Yaoundé Military Tribunal, following the hearing yesterday. The delay allows the Centre Court of Appeal to rule on legal challenges filed by both the prosecution and the defense. The appellate court hearing is scheduled for February 20, though some observers note that this date is only indicative. Given the court’s heavy caseload, a ruling may not be issued that day, which could further delay proceedings at the military tribunal. The continuation of the trial hinges on the appeal court’s decision.
Defense lawyers filed appeals to contest the military tribunal’s rulings from November 11, 2024. The panel of judges, led by Colonel Jacques Baudouin Missè Njonè, had dismissed all objections raised by the defense, which argued that the rights of the accused had been violated during the preliminary investigation and judicial inquiry.
Attorneys representing businessman Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga and Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, the former head of Cameroon’s General Directorate for External Research (DGRE), are seeking to have their clients released so they can stand trial as free men. Other lawyers are challenging the reclassification of charges against their clients, arguing that it is premature at this stage of the trial.
Meanwhile, the DGRE, whose 12 agents are implicated in Martinez Zogo’s murder, is attempting to avoid civil liability. The military tribunal has denied the intelligence agency’s request to be recognized as a victim in the case and has instead placed it among the accused— a decision fiercely contested by the DGRE’s legal team.
This is the second time the Court of Appeal has been called upon in this case. In July, defense lawyers had petitioned the court to compel the military tribunal to provide them with copies of the investigation file. The tribunal had ruled that lawyers could only consult the documents on-site, without taking them away. The appellate court sided with the military tribunal, prompting some lawyers to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.
Source: Sbbc