DW
The inquest into the murder of Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo is stalled one year after his body was found. For many, there are mounting questions in a case that implicates the country’s most powerful individuals.
The naked and lifeless body of radio journalist Martinez Zogo was discovered a year ago on the outskirts of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. The exact date of the discovery of his body was January 22, 2023.
A group hooded men abducted the well-known media personality five days earlier after leaving the privately-owned radio station Amplitude FM, which he headed. The 50-year-old journalist was known throughout the country for his vocal criticism of Cameroon’s powerful elites.
Zogo’s body showed signs of torture, including severed fingers and a twisted tongue. He had apparently been sodomized with a stick and had been subjected toelectric shocks, according to reports by press freedom organizations, including Reporters without Borders (RSF).
The investigation into the violent death, however, has been anything but straight-forward, with those charged with various levels of complicity in the murder being the same powers which Zogo tried tirelessly to bring down.
Cameroonian justice: torture without murder
According to the AFP news agency, there are sixteen suspects in custody in connection with the events. However, they have only been charged with “complicity in torture” to date.
“Here are the sticking points: we don’t know if Martinez was murdered. We know he was tortured, but we don’t know by whom,” says Calvin Job, the lawyer representing Zogo’s family.
“We don’t know what’s going on in the investigation,” he told DW, despite the fact that “(i)t’s been a year,” since the gruesome discovery of his disfigured body.
Among those in custody under torture charges are several commando members from Cameroon’s intelligence services — the General Directorate for External Investigations, or DGRE. One detained suspect, DGRE special operations director Justin Danwe, has reportedly confessed to leading a commando team tasked with kidnapping and torturing the journalist.
