Cameroon’s Martinez Zogo case: key investigator wraps up testimony

In Yaoundé, the long-awaited hearing of the lead investigator in the Martinez Zogo case has finally concluded, shedding new light on the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death.

Colonel Jean-Pierre Otoulou took the stand to defend his investigation, asserting that he had gathered substantial evidence. Among his claims was that Bruno Bidjang, then an associate of businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga—one of the main suspects in the case—had attempted to obtain information about inquiries targeting him.

While Bidjang tried to prove his innocence, the lawyer for Martinez Zogo’s heirs denounced what he called interference in the proceedings. “This simply reveals what we suspected from the start. He effectively tried to infiltrate the joint commission in an investigation that was supposed to concern him,” said Attorney Calvin Job.

The lieutenant-colonel says he acted on orders

During exchanges with Colonel Otoulou, Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe of the DGRE admitted to planning the surveillance, abduction, and torture of Cameroonian presenter Martinez Zogo. He also reportedly assembled the operational teams using DGRE personnel. However, he suggested that he had received orders from his superiors.

For the lawyers of Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, who was director general of general intelligence at the time of the events, no evidence supports Danwe’s version. “He went on a mission without receiving any mission order or funding. When he returns, he makes no report to his superiors. Simple conclusion: it was a personal initiative of Colonel Danwe,” said Attorney Ndjana Ndjana.

Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe also reaffirmed that Martinez Zogo’s torture did not take place in the Ekang building, owned by Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga.