Prominent Cameroon journalist found dead after abduction
On Sunday, January 22, a prominent Cameroonian journalist’s body was found mutilated near Yaounde, five days after he had been abducted by unknown assailants. The press union and a colleague confirmed this on Sunday.
Martinez Zogo, director of Amplitude FM private radio station, was abducted on Jan. 17 by unknown attackers after trying to enter a police station to flee his attackers, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
Zogo had recently been talking on air about a case of alleged embezzlement involving a media outlet with government connections, RSF said.
“Cameroonian media has just lost one of its members, a victim of hatred and barbarism,” Cameroon’s journalists’ trade union said in a statement. “Where is the freedom of the press, freedom of opinion, and freedom of expression in Cameroon when working in the media now entails a mortal risk?”
His colleague, Charlie Amie Tchouemou, editor-in-chief of Amplitude FM, confirmed Zogo’s death and his abduction.
The incident is the latest in a string of attacks against journalists in Cameroon.
Media advocates described Martinez Zogo’s disappearance and death as a further sign of the perils of reporting in the African country.
