CJA Statement on the killing of Martinez Zogo
The Commonwealth Journalists Association, CJA, Cameroon Branch condemns unreservedly the callous and unnecessary killing of journalist, Martinez Zogo who disappeared from public view on January 17, 2023. Mr Martinez was a vibrant investigative journalist who worked for Amplitude FM in Yaounde and fulfilled the function and aspiration of his station.
News of his announced killing in Ebogo 3 near Soa in Yaounde, has hit the journalism world like a thunderbolt. We remember only recently another vexing disappearance of yet another journalist - Samuel Wazizi whose body has not been seen to this day.
Curiously nobody has been tried or convicted in his disappearance. The fact that Mr. Zogo's body was found in a high state of decomposition presupposes that he was tortured and killed. CJA recognizes government's prior commitment through government's spokesperson, Minister of Communication, (MOC), Rene Emmanuel Sadi to investigate the case when it was an abduction. Today we're confronted with invisible and dangerous individuals who are clearly demonstrating the same mood of bellicose jingoism that we have seen before with the unexplained passing away of priests, journalists and other innocent professionals.
The CJA uses this platform to call on government to multiply search avenues that will find the killers and prosecute the perpetrators of the latest heinous crime. The Cameroonian media says no to impunity and reminds its enemies that freedom of the press is enshrined in the number 1 law of this country. They equally fail to respect the globally-recognized status of journalists as civilians.
Ensuring a free press, safe environment and access to information from farthest reaches of this country is critical in our present times. Continued threats against journalists will only undermine Cameroon's ongoing efforts to come out of the excruciating economic downturn.
Ebenezer W. Motale
President, CJA,
Cameroon Branch