Yaoundé and Ebolowa Revenue authorities’ trial opens

After more than a year of waiting, the former Revenue Authority Manager of Yaoundé, Emmanuel Mbia Enguene, and his co-accused, a dozen former officials at the Ministry of Finance will be summoned at the Special Criminal Court in a public trial on October 1, 2015.

Kalara newspaper noted that they were accused of “attempted misappropriation of public funds for a total of 4.6 billion FCFA”. According to the order for reference of the investigating judge, the accused were classified into four groups.

The first which has six people, all former officials of the General Treasury of Yaoundé, has as leader Emmanuel Mbia Enguene. This group responds to an alleged embezzlement of more than 3.2 billion FCFA.

The second group relates to the contingent of the General Treasury of Ebolowa. Former TPG, M. Djidéré Etina, and Ms. Mballa were convicted for 910, 5 million FCFA. Mr. Ndam Yaya, who was in service at Kribi, responds to an embezzlement of 381 million FCFA, continued the journal.

And then the fourth group of defendants is affected by financial malpractices supposed to have taken place at Monatélé, in the Lékié. The three members of this group were to justify the disappearance of 130 million FCFA.

This case started on February 5, 2013, with the sudden arrest of Mr. Mbia Enguene who was still PTG of Yaoundé, and some of his collaborators by the Directorate of the judicial police in Yaoundé. The preliminary investigation by the judicial police had led to the opening of a judicial investigation. And the latter had permitted enlargement of the prosecution to the treasury in Ebolowa, and any other revenue of the Treasury of Kribi and Monatélé.

In these positions of the Treasury, large sums of money had been disbursed for the benefit of the military court in Yaoundé in respect to the payment of the costs of military justice. According to the judicial inquiry, these payments were fraudulent.

According to the Journal, the authors of the financial States suspected of fraud, military judges were never worried by justice, despite what the judicial investigation had already identified some specifying the amount attributed to each. According to the investigating judge, the folder should be sent to the Supreme Court, so that the High Court decides the jurisdiction which should hear the case, and possibly the judges appointed for this.

The Attorney General at the TCS has not yet transmitted the file to the Supreme Court, which extends the de facto impunity enjoyed by these judges and military.