2024-04-26 11:11:58
A year after the sordid murder of journalist Martinez Zogo, the study of the protagonists’ phones finally reveals its secrets. At the heart of suspicion: the mysterious mayor of Bibey, close to power. Exclusive inquiry.
Telephone expertise: the key to the enigma?
This is a major twist in the affair that has shaken Cameroon for more than a year. As exclusively revealed by 237online.com, the analysis of the suspects’ telephone data sheds new light on the assassination of journalist Martinez Zogo in January 2023. Painstaking work carried out by cybercrime experts, whose report could be consulted by our colleagues at Jeune Afrique.
At the heart of the revelations: the troubled links between the victim, her “ sworn enemy » the businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, and a certain Martin Savom, until now unknown to the general public. The latter, mayor of the small town of Bibey in the Center region, would in reality be close to the presidency, operating under the name « Martin Essouma ». A true shadow man at the heart of the system.
Martinez Zogo, a hunted man
The study of Martinez Zogo’s telephones paints the portrait of a journalist on the razor’s edge. His exchanges show that he was in the crosshairs of Amougou Belinga, whom he regularly attacked on his radio show “ Traffic jam“. Despite attempts at mediation, the rag burned between the two men.
But Zogo also had entries to the top of the state. He interacted regularly with contacts like “ SGPR Wife » (Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic) or « Oswald Baboke Whatsapp », high dignitary of the regime. Ambiguous relationships which were not enough to protect him. On the evening of January 17, 2023, a few minutes before his kidnapping, he made a final call to “Savom mayor« …
The mayor of Bibey, the keystone of the affair?
This is where the expert report makes a crucial discovery. The number of Martin Savom, alias “ Martin Essouma“, also appears in the phone of Justin Danwe, alleged mastermind of the commando responsible for the assassination. The two men are said to have increased their exchanges and meetings in the weeks preceding the events.
For investigators, this link makes the mayor of Bibey an essential cog in the scheme. Especially since Danwe’s phones were suspiciously deleted, suggesting a desire to cover their tracks. On these bases, justice officially charged Martin Savom with “complicity in assassination“. His fate will be decided on May 6, at the opening of the highly anticipated trial.
This affair with multiple ramifications continues to sow trouble at the highest level of the Cameroonian state. Other senior officials, such as former intelligence boss Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, remain in the sights despite their denials. Where will the thread of complicity lead? Response in the coming weeks, with the start of the hearings which promise to be explosive…