Mendo Ze’s road to Kondengui - His crimes, the arrest and interrogation

Gervais Mendo Ze was arrested on Wednesday, November 12 at about 10 a.m. in his Nkol Eton neighbourhood residence in Yaounde.

The arrest was carried out by elements of the special police disguised in civilian attire. The special police unit was created by President Biya last year to serve the Special Criminal Court, SCC.

He was delivered to the special police unit post in his own private car. He was later on joined at the commissioner’s office by some members of his family including his wife and daughter – the latter is a magistrate serving at Akonolinga.

He is being accused of mismanaging some 2.616 billion FCFA, funds accruing from audio-visual tax during his over 16 years at the helm of the audio visual state corporation.

At about 6p.m. Mendo Ze was conveyed to the chambers of the State Counsel of SCC for official declaration of the charges against him. The interrogation took long given that the former CRTV general manager was later sent to the examining magistrate to inform him that he would be put under pre-trial detention.

The gates of the Kondengui maximum security prison were flung open at about 1 a.m. to receive the new high profile tenant. He was arrested alongside four senior officials of the ministry of finance said to be also implicated in the racket.

Mendo Ze’s journey to prison can be traced back to 2005 when he was sacked as general manager of the CRTV. That same year, he was appointed Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Communication with no assigned duties. Two years later, President Biya in a minor cabinet shake-up sent Mendo Ze packing.

In November 2008, Mendo Ze was summoned by an examining magistrate of the Yaounde high court in relation to the same file which sent him to prison last yesterday.

In January the following year, he underwent scrupulous grilling by the Supreme State Audit. They found him guilty of 13 management errors some of which included undue authorisation of benefits to some personnel of the state corporation, award of contracts without the knowledge of the competent commission, engagement of expenses not previewed in the budget of the corporation and which had no links with his mission, disbursement of undue funds to the tune of 155 MFCFA and the unjustified payment of executed contracts with money more than the initially agreed amount in the contract. The interrogators then recommended that he be barred for five years from holding any public office.

Born on December 25, 1944 in Nkong Mekak in Sangmelima, (Biya’s division of origin), Mendo Ze is a prolific singer, author of the famous ‘La Voix du Cénacle’.

He is Knight of Honour of the French legion, officer of the Francophonie Order and of Cultural Dialogues, professor of stylistic French and promoter of ethno stylistics. Like Ephraim Inoni, Mendo Ze is also a traditional ruler. He’s taken all these behind bars.