The trial over the murder of Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo resumes before the military court in Yaoundé, with attention focused on the return of cybersecurity expert Georges Bitjoka to the witness stand.

After hearings on June 1 and 2 that were largely devoted to his testimony and cross-examination, Bitjoka is expected to answer additional questions from government prosecutor Lt. Col. Cerlin Belinga. The stakes extend well beyond procedural matters. During previous hearings, the prosecution’s questioning sparked tensions among the parties because of its focus on communications between Lt. Col. Justin Danwe, a central defendant in the case, and Modeste Mopa Fatouing, the former director general of taxes who now works at the International Monetary Fund.

Testimony That Triggered Controversy

Bitjoka, who was tasked during the investigation with examining phones and other digital devices seized by investigators, told the court that he found no explicit evidence directly linking the exchanges between Danwe and Mopa Fatouing to the Martinez Zogo case.

“I found no explicit elements connecting Justin Danwe and Modeste Mopa Fatouing to the Martinez Zogo affair,” he testified. Despite that statement, the prosecutor continued to question him about deleted messages exchanged between the two men.

According to discussions in court, the messages, sent between July and December 2022, concerned a legal matter involving businessman Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga, who is also being prosecuted in the case as one of the alleged masterminds behind the journalist’s murder.

One of the most closely scrutinized aspects of the exchanges involves language allegedly used by Danwe. In one WhatsApp message cited during the hearing, he reportedly wrote, “We will multiply these meetings, then we will crush him.” In another, he allegedly stated that an appointment had been arranged with “the target,” adding that the person had “revealed everything” and promised to provide further details.

The Meaning of “The Target”

Martinez Zogo’s name reportedly does not appear explicitly in the messages. However, several parties in the trial have argued that the reference to “the target” may have referred to the journalist, who at the time was reporting on sensitive matters involving the tax administration and Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga.

The exchanges between Danwe and Mopa Fatouing are also said to have stopped on January 20, 2023, three days after Zogo was abducted and later killed.

That issue has become one of the main sources of controversy in the proceedings. Lawyers representing the civil parties have accused the prosecutor of shifting the focus of the hearings toward an individual who is not on trial, potentially obscuring questions of direct responsibility. Some attorneys have even privately suggested that the military prosecution’s line of questioning appears at times to align with arguments advanced by the defense of Amougou Belinga.

Prosecutor Defends His Approach

Lt. Col. Cerlin Belinga rejected those criticisms during his closing remarks on June 2 before the hearings were adjourned.

He argued that his responsibility in establishing the truth requires him to investigate both incriminating and exculpatory evidence. He also stressed that all defendants continue to benefit from the presumption of innocence until a verdict is delivered.

The renewed examination of Bitjoka therefore carries particular significance. It may reveal whether prosecutors intend to continue exploring the exchanges between Danwe and Mopa Fatouing or whether they will focus more narrowly on evidence directly linked to the defendants charged in the Martinez Zogo case.

In a trial where nearly every hearing fuels competing interpretations of the prosecution’s strategy, Bitjoka’s testimony is being watched for more than its technical value. It could either clarify or further complicate the debate surrounding the use and interpretation of digital evidence in one of Cameroon’s most sensitive criminal cases in recent years.

Source: Business in Cameroon