An arrest warrant signed by investigating judge Jean Betea and reviewed by SBBC showed that authorities incarcerated Joseph Liboire Angono, mayor of Biwong Bane in Cameroon’s South Region, at Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé on February 3, 2026.

Prosecutors opened a judicial investigation at the Special Criminal Court (TCS) into suspicions of “complicity in embezzlement of public funds, embezzlement of public funds, and money laundering.” Cameroonian law classifies these offenses as economic crimes.

The warrant stated that the mayor theoretically faces life imprisonment. Article 184 of Cameroon’s Penal Code provides that “any person who, by any means whatsoever, fraudulently obtains or retains any property, movable or immovable, belonging to, intended for, or entrusted to the unified State, a cooperative, a community or establishment, or to public bodies or entities subject to State supervision or in which the State holds directly or indirectly a majority stake, is punishable, where the value of such property exceeds 500,000 francs, by life imprisonment.”

The document also stated that, when the value of the misappropriated property exceeds CFA100,000, the perpetrator faces a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years.

The referral to the Special Criminal Court signals the potential scale of the case. The court, which authorities created in 2012 to combat embezzlement of public funds, exercises jurisdiction only when alleged damages reach CFA50 million or more. Ordinary courts handle cases below that threshold. The use of the TCS therefore “suggests” that the disputed amount reaches at least CFA50 million, according to the document.

The warrant stated that Joseph Liboire Angono’s pretrial detention will run until August 2026.

Source: Sbbc