Cameroon: a phone at the center of questions regarding the investigation in the Martinez Zogo trial

According to this investigator, the most compromising exchanges between Justin Danwe and Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga allegedly took place on another phone, distinct from those seized during the investigation. It is said to be an iPhone 12 that was never handed over to the investigators, even though traces of it were reportedly found at a repair shop in the Biyem-Assi neighborhood in Yaoundé.

Colonel Otolou explained that this device was brought to the repair shop by the repairman’s sister-in-law, who is employed at Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga’s home. When questioned by the investigators, she allegedly claimed to have received the phone from her boss, but the device was never recovered as part of the procedure.

The lawyer for the heirs of Martinez Zogo, Me Calvin Job, condemned what he considers an internal sabotage of the investigation. He stated that it was particularly serious for an investigator to seek to recover a phone deemed fundamental before the government commissioner deemed it unnecessary to pursue this course of action.

Conflicting accounts regarding the phone

According to Colonel Otolou’s testimony, Me Tchoungang, lawyer for Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, reportedly offered to bring the phone and its owner back to the investigators. The former bar president contests this account and believes it is a testimony against his client.

The cross-examination of Colonel Jean-Pierre Otolou is set to continue on Tuesday. The debates are expected to allow the parties to revisit the investigations conducted around this device and the alleged exchanges between the two defendants.