Regarding the Martinez Zogo case, the 17 individuals who were indicted during the investigation into the assassination of the former host and director of Amplitude FM radio were summoned on Wednesday, March 13th, to appear before the military court of Yaoundé for their final confirmation hearing before the trial. The date for the first hearing of this highly anticipated trial has been set for March 25th.
The military court of Yaoundé will serve as the venue for this trial. Situated in the Ngoa Ekélé neighborhood, which houses the army headquarters, it boasts newly constructed facilities, including a large courtroom capable of accommodating hundreds of people.
The president of the institution, Colonel Magistrate Jacques Baudoin Misse Djone, is expected to preside over the panel of judges. Will all three judges be military personnel? While nothing excludes this possibility, including one or two civilian judges is also a possibility, according to a magistrate speaking anonymously.
Among the defendants, there will be 17 individuals, including prominent figures such as Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, the businessman and head of the media group anecdote, Commissioner Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, former head of the DGRE, the Cameroonian intelligence service, Lieutenant Colonel Justin Danwe, former director of operations at the DGRE, and Martin Stéphane Savom, serving mayor of the Bibey municipality.
The charges against them are numerous and varied, ranging from murder, complicity in murder, complicity in torture, and conspiracy, to failure to follow orders. What pace will the trial take when it commences on March 25th?
According to sources close to the case, the court intends to proceed swiftly, and the debates could begin as early as the opening session of the trial. Future hearings are expected to be public, as assured by a lawyer, although the radio and television broadcasting of the hearings, desired by some parties to the trial, is not guaranteed.