2024-03-15 15:44:20
The military judge Sikati II Kamworesponsible for investigating the case of the assassination of the journalist Martinez Zogo, has just been severely sanctioned. Accused of trying to free key suspects Amougou Belinga et Eco Eco, he was fired from the bench and demoted. A case which shakes confidence in Cameroonian justice.
From magistrate to simple officer: the fall of Sikati ????????⚖️
The sanction is heavy for Lieutenant-Colonel Sikati II Kamwo. Initially expected to be promoted to the rank of Colonel in January, he now finds himself excluded from the military judiciary and returned to his original corps as a simple staff officer.
A real downgrade for this judge, relegated overnight to the rank of office head and transferred to Garoua, far from Yaoundé. A humiliating punishment which comes after his appearance in the disciplinary council.
3 billion for an aborted release: the shocking revelations of Paul Chouta ????????
But what exactly are Judge Sikati accused of? According to the shattering revelations of the whistleblower Paul Choutahe would have tried to free, under cover of a legal procedure, Amougou Belinga and Eko Eko, the alleged instigators of the murder of Martinez Zogo.
A maneuver which would have failed despite the signing of a release order on December 1, 2023. Worse, persistent rumors report a bribe of 3 billion FCFA which would have been paid to Sikati and others officials of the military court for “ to clean ” the folder.
Extremely serious accusations which cast a worrying shadow over the integrity of military justice and the independence of the judges in this ultra-sensitive matter. If they were confirmed, they would give credence to suspicions of collusion between certain magistrates and the powerful defendants.
Yaoundé military tribunal: the house of briefcases? ????????️
Paul Chouta’s revelations only reinforce the doubts that have weighed on the Yaoundé military court since the start of the Zogo affair. According to internal sources, the institution has been under constant financial pressure since February 2023.
“I have never seen so much money circulating. People come with briefcases.”testifies on condition of anonymity a court agent. “It started with Judge Oyono Ebessa. How to explain that suspects like Bruno Bidjang, although involved, could have been released? »
Questions which call into question the integrity of this exceptional jurisdiction, suspected of being permeable to influence and corruption. A suspicion reinforced by the disturbing profile of Judge Sikati, described as a “man of God” unsuspected but who seems to have succumbed to the lure of money.
The case of Judge Sikati II Kamwo is a new earthquake in the Martinez Zogo affair, which continues to shake Cameroon. Beyond his individual fate, the whole question of the independence and probity of justice is raised.
Between rumors of corruption, financial pressure and murky connivance, the Yaoundé military court appears to be a weakened institution, where money sometimes seems to dictate its law. An alarming observation which questions the capacity of justice to bring to light the truth in this burning issue.
More than ever, it is urgent to shed light on the abuses that plague the judicial system, otherwise the trust of citizens will be permanently broken. The future of the rule of law in Cameroon depends on it. ????????⚖️