THE FUSE

Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, one of Cameroon's wealthiest men and the owner of Vision 4 television, is on trial before the Tribunal Militaire de Yaounde accused of ordering the kidnapping, torture and murder of radio journalist Martinez Zogo, who was known for broadcasting the names of corrupt officials and powerful businessmen on his popular investigative programme before he disappeared in January 2023 and was found dead five days later, his body bearing marks of severe torture. A hearing on June 2 produced its most explosive development yet: the disclosure that 26 phone calls between Amougou Belinga and the head of operations of Cameroon's external intelligence agency were deleted from both phones during the precise days Zogo was abducted and killed, and that only 18 percent of the billionaire's phone data has so far been analysed.