Missing Cameroonian journalist found dead
January 22, 2023
The mutilated body of a distinguished Cameroonian journalist and radio presenter was found near the capital on Sunday, five days after unidentified assailants reportedly abducted him outside a police station.
Martinez Zogo was managing director of the privately owned Amplitude FM radio station and the host of its popular daily program Embouteillage.
He went missing last Tuesday when his badly damaged car was found outside a police station in a suburb near the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde.
The editor-in-chief of Amplitude FM, Charly Tchouemou, said he identified Zogo's body in Egobo, north of Yaounde.
What happened to Zogo?
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said police officers at the Nkol-Nkondi station heard a loud noise outside on Tuesday evening. When they went out to investigate, they found Zogo's empty car rammed into the station's outer gate.
A black car was seen driving away, which caused the officer to conclude the journalist had been abducted.
RSF said Zogo was lately discussing on his show a case of embezzlement allegedly involving a wealthy businessman who is close to a member of the Cameroonian government.
"Cameroonian media has just lost one of its members, a victim of hatred and barbarism," Cameroon's journalists' trade union said in a statement. "Where is the freedom of the press, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression in Cameroon when working in the media now entails a mortal risk?"
Journalists' conditions in Cameroon
Media freedoms in Cameroon face constant threats by the authoritarian government.
In 2015, a reporter for Radio France International was imprisoned for two years on terrorism charges that rights groups said were a sham.
Another journalist and outspoken government critic, Paul Chouta, was attacked twice on separate occasions and jailed for nearly two years on charges believed to be politically motivated.
rmt/sms (AFP, Reuters)