Cameroon: graphic torture video shown at martinez zogo murder trial

The ongoing trial concerning the assassination of Cameroonian radio host Martinez Zogo, who was found deceased in January 2023 following severe violence, saw a significant development on June 1, 2026, in Yaoundé. A disturbing video, discovered among a suspect’s digital data, was presented, depicting Zogo bleeding and pleading for assistance.

Proceedings continued on June 1, 2026, at the Yaoundé military tribunal in the Martinez Zogo case. Zogo, a prominent host for Amplitude FM radio, gained renown for his critical exposés of public figures across Cameroon before his abduction and subsequent murder in January 2023.

Monday’s session featured the testimony of Professor Georges Bell Bitjocka, a computer forensics expert, who had meticulously analyzed data retrieved from the accused individuals’ mobile phones.

For the first time, numerous screenshots and, most notably, a video depicting Martinez Zogo’s torture were displayed. The footage showed the victim desperately pleading for help, his arms bound behind his back, with a visible laceration on one ear and his face covered in blood.

Shock and tears fill the courtroom

The harrowing images sent a chill through the courtroom, prompting tears from many attendees as the video played.

Ludovic Zabze, legal counsel for Amplitude FM radio, shared his profound reaction: “As the video concluded, I averted my gaze. I then looked at the accused, and even they appeared devastated. Emotionally, it was incredibly powerful.”

The incriminating video was discovered within the Google account of Godje Oumarou, one of the accused individuals and a suspected member of the commando unit believed to have carried out the journalist’s execution.

Records show that on the evening of January 17, 2023, Oumarou communicated with Justin Danwe, then Director of Operations at the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE). Danwe reportedly instructed Oumarou to tell another accused individual to “take images of the mouse,” a phrase identified as a coded reference to Martinez Zogo.

Master Séri Zokou, representing Maxime Eko Eko, the former Director General of the DGRE, asserted that his client had “no connection whatsoever with the events.” He further stated, “Regarding the phone, these elements were provided to the joint investigative commission and then to the examining magistrate. There was nothing concerning our client in this matter.”

Professor Georges Bell Bitjocka also confirmed that he had examined the mobile devices belonging to several other defendants, including Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, Bruno Bidjang, and Martin Savom.

According to Master Calvin Job, legal counsel for Martinez Zogo’s beneficiaries, “Should the tribunal rely on this report, 98% of the work will already be accomplished.”

A look back at the Martinez Zogo case

On the morning of January 22, 2023, citizens across Cameroon learned of the tragic discovery of the lifeless body of Martinez Zogo, whose full name was Arsène Salomon Mbani Zogo. A highly popular radio host in Yaoundé, he was 51 years old and survived by his wife and children. Each weekday morning, his show « Embouteillages » fearlessly challenged and exposed societal ills and powerful individuals in Cameroonian society, while notably praising President Paul Biya.

Abducted on the evening of January 17, his body was found five days later, nude and bearing clear signs of torture, in a field approximately 25 kilometers from the capital city.

Upon concluding the preliminary judicial inquiry, Colonel-Magistrate Pierrot Narcisse Nzie, the third military investigating judge overseeing the probe, referred 17 detained individuals for trial. This group includes Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, the former head of the DGRE (Cameroon’s counter-intelligence service); Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe, formerly the DGRE’s Director of Operations; Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, who leads the L’Anecdote press group; and Stéphane Martin Savom, an administrative executive and mayor of Bibey, a commune in Cameroon’s Centre region.

After being protracted by procedural complexities, the trial for the assassination, torture, abduction, and illegal detention of Martinez Zogo commenced on Monday, March 25, 2024, at the Yaoundé military tribunal. Substantive deliberations began on September 1, 2025.