Cameroon: Minister Polycarpe Abah Abah and the Mendo Ze Affair, Special Criminal Court to resume hearing on Jan.26th

Cameroon's former finance minister has been notified of more charges against him coming from the Special Criminal Court. SMR understands that the charges are related to the Gervais Mendo Ze Affair, former general manager of the state owned radio and television. Absent for health reasons in the first two hearings of the prosecution case against the former Minister of Finance, Prof. Gervais Mendo Ze, former GM of the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) and other co-defendants including Polycarpe Abah Abah the accused were jointly and severally presented the charges before judges at the Special Criminal Court. During the third hearing, the chairman Justice Yap Abdou read the file revealing that Polycarpe Abah Abah was accused again of misappropriation and coercion involving the sum of 205 873 000 FCFA with the former DG of CRTV, Gervais MendoZe. The charges against the defendants dated back to the period January 1, 2004 to the 26th January 2005. The period during which it was alleged the former GM of CRTV fraudulently obtained over 18 billion FCFA. In response to these accusations, the former MINFI pleaded not guilty, just like the other accused at the first hearing. Concerning the participation of witnesses, Abah Abah and Co presented at the hearing eleven witnesses. A number that President Abdou Yap harmonized to five. He asked them to make a consensus choice. It was on that note that the hearing was suspended to be resumed on the 26th and 28th of January 2016.