One year after killing of Martinez Zogo: Diplomatic institutions pressure gov’t to bring perpetrators to justice.

The fresh call made by the institutions, grouped under the Media Freedom Coalition, is contained in a joint statement issued Monday January 22. 

Member countries of the Media Freedom Coalition who jointly issued the statement includes the United States of America, USA, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, the Great Britain and the European Union, EU, delegation to Cameroon. 

“Today marks one year since Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo was found brutally murdered,” the coalition stated in the joint statement issued yesterday. 

“We, the members and partners of the Media Freedom Coalition, acknowledge the Cameroonian government’s efforts to investigate his murder and its circumstances,” they added. 

While stressing on the need for the perpetrators to face the sledge hammer of the law, the coalition members charged government to ensure an independent and free media in Cameroon crucial in every democratic society. 

“Every effort should be made to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. We recall the crucial role free and independent media play in Cameroon and all over the world in democratic and open societies,” the release detailed.

It should be recalled that the then Station Manager of Amplitude FM and host of the flagship radio programme, ‘Embouteillage’, was declared missing on January 19, 2023.

On January 22, 2023, his corpse was discovered at an advanced state of decomposition with signs of tortured, at Ebogo II, near Soa, on the outskirts of nation’s capital city. 

Following an autopsy report perform on the body, it was reported that the body of the media man had suffered severe torture and body parts mutilated. 

The Minister of Communication, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, in a communique back then announced that a special investigation into the circumstances leading to his kidnap and torture to death had been ordered by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya.   

Despite some arrests made one year on, several questions still remain unanswered as to who ordered the kidnap and subsequent killing of the radio host. 

A number of high-profile figures had been arrested and some of whom are still in pretrial detention, including business mogul, Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga and the now former Head of the Directorate-General for External Research, DGRE, Léopold Maxime Eko Eko and his assistant, Justin Danwe. 

However, the arrested persons have been put on trial on charges of “complicity in murder” of the late journalist.