Operation Sparrowhawk: Yves Michel Fotso sick again

The hearing of Yves Miche Fotso at the Special Criminal Court did not last for more than 20 minutes due to his absence, according to the daily Emergency newspaper in its September 3 edition.

“The defendant is not feeling well because he still had to visit the doctor yesterday morning (Tuesday 1 September 2015)," Emergence quoted Me Achet Nagnigni, counsel for the businessman.

With no details of his illness, one thing is certain; this is not the first time that the son of Victor Fotso has not been present at a hearing due to health reasons. This means that the former head of Camair has been experiencing serious health problems since his arrest in 2010.

The next hearing was set for September 9, 2015. According to the newspaper, Mr. Fotso was present during the second part of the Camair case.

"For this second part, he blamed the son of wealthy businessman, Mayor of Bandjoun and part of the CPDM (ruling party NDRL) of embezzling approximately 4.6 billion and 8.9 billion in relation to the sale of spare parts of the remains of the wreck of the aircraft 747-Combi, between 2000 to 2002," said Emergence.

Yves Michel Fotso is however not out of trouble. “He must also explain the disappearance of 1 billion FCFA compensation for victims of the aircraft crash. It was an accident that occurred in 1995," the newspaper stated.

For the first part of this case, the 54 year old man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on September 22, 2012. He had appealed to the Supreme Court.

In an interview with the Jeune Afrique magazine in March 2015, he was surprised that the highest court of Cameroon had not appointed a rapporteur three years later. Having tried several times unsuccessfully to repay part of the corpus delicti, Mr. Fotso is now convinced that it is all over and he will be “deprived of his freedom.”