Former SONARA GM Charles Metock, Six Others Arrested

Charles Metouck: Former GM SONARA

The former General Manager of SONARA has been arrested alongside six others. According to information gathered, Charles Metock and six of his former collaborators are detained at the Buea Prison. Sources say the former GM entered his office after he was sacked to carryout an obnoxious act which consists of destroying some document. Informed of the incident, the State Counsel ordered for an immediate arrest as well as the arrest of six of his former collaborators who are helping investigators to probe into the matter. Sources say many heads will roll at SONARA giving the nature of the act committed. However, some unconfirmed sources say the former GM tiptoed into his office to destroy the traces of some documents. More so, it is alleged he also signed some documents whereas at that particular moment he was no more the man in-charge. Besides, public opinion is wondering how someone who was sacked from office had access to the GM’s office with the tide security at SONARA. Whether he (Charles Metock) had the duplicates of the keys into his office is another trace investigators will uncover. Yet government sources say his arrest is not linked to Operation Sparrow Hawk, the anti-corruption drive that has been giving nightmare to barons of the Biya regime. Yet by destroying sensitive and administrative documents, Charles Metock classified sources hinted may find himself in serious trouble. A school of thought is of the opinion that a special audit should probe into his management before the new General Manager swings into action

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Alleged Bank Accounts of Cameroonians Abroad: Forjindam Cleared

By Fai Cassian

Forjindam Zachs: Prisoner with or without a Crime?

The list of alleged bank accounts of Cameroonian ministers, directors including some barons of the Biya regime was circulated on the net. It has been headline in many newspapers this week. Yet classified sources say the five accounts bearing the name of former Cameroon Shipyard’s (Chantier Naval) General Manager Zacchaues Forjindam are faulty. According to what we gathered the accounts published in alleged accounts are all based in Cameroon and not abroad. Sources hinted that the bank accounts belonging to Forjindam in Cameroon were frozen within the framework of “Operation Sparrow hawk” wherein all his belongings were also seized. More so it is aired that the accounts with a credit balance of 9 billion FCFA as published in the alleged accounts are not known to Forjindam at all. Meaning that these figures were doctored to make people believe in what appears to be another masquerade to settle scores.  

However, expressionists are of the opinion that the fact that if Forjindam’s name still appeared in this list, it is another calculated move to give a dog a bad name so as to hang it.

Prisoner with or without a Crime?

It should be noted that Forjindam was thrown into pre-trial detention for alleged embezzlement charges on May 7, 2008. According to the statutes he was supposed to appear in court within 6 months. But within that period there was nobody who showed up as the plaintiff that took him to court. His pre-trial detention was prolonged for another six months and he had to appear in court in 2009. Meanwhile on November 3, 2008, Antoine Bikoro Alo’o, the Interim DG filed a suite to the State Attorney against Forjindam claiming that during a routine internal audit executed by Atouga Edéné, Chief of the Treasury Department of Chantier Naval’s Financial Department, it was realised that the former DG, Zaccheus Forjindam had signed 12 cheques to the tune of FCFA 206, 699,290 as payment to suppliers of Chantier Naval without justification receipts. Mr. Atouga Edene who affected the said internal audit affirmed that it was a secret mission entrusted to him by Antoine Bikoro, reasons why his immediate bosses, Mr NDOUMBE Jean LeBON and the Director of Finance, Mr Jean Simon NGWANG, though on duty were not informed. It was a teleguided mission and Atouga Edene executed it to precision, yet he forgot that in 2003 and 2004 he was the person charged for verifying all bank transactions of Chantier Naval and if the payments were fraudulent why did he not signal at that moment? He decided to work alone and forwarded his report to the Interim DG, Antoine Bikoro without following the normal procedure prescribed by his hierarchy.

In the report, Atouga Edene accused his immediate boss, the Director of Finance, Jean Simon Ngwang of conniving with Forjindam in the signing of the 12 cheques. The Interim DG in all normal and functionary systems would have queried Jean Simon Ngwang to explain the accusations against him, but since he was looking for ways to nail him and Forjindam, he went straight to court without giving them any chance to explain the authenticity of the cheques. Antoine Bikoro did not notify the members of the Board about his decision to go to court. He did not equally ask the External Auditor Charles Kooh II that represented the American auditing firm, PRICE WATER HOUSE COOPERS why he certified the 2003 and 2004 with such irregularities.

Forjindam’s Verdict

The verdict which fell like a bomb on Forjindam and his supporters was taken on July 20, 2012 in a judgment described by many legal minds as an insult to justice. Worst of all, the verdict came just days after the Wouri Appeal Court that was examining the appeal of Forjindam that was convicted for 12 year instead gave him 15 years, thus adding three years to the original verdict pronounced by the Wouri High Court. During the appeal the court dropped and acquitted him of most of the charges that were originally imputed on him. This gave room to the retro ceding of most of his seized property. These gestures coupled with the dexterity of Forjindam’s lawyers who virtually crushed all the arguments put forth the nail him gave hope to Forjinadm and his supporters. But the final judgment that was pronounced sentencing to 15 years imprisonment did not look as emanating from the same case. The crux of the matter is not the 15 year jail term that Forjindam was given at the appeal but the issue that he was expected in court the next day and on July 20, 2012, that is two days after the Wouri Appeal Court gave him 15 years jail term, the Wouri High Court adjudicated on another matter and slammed him a life jail sentence.

Forjindam according what impressionists say is paying the price for spearheading the cause for the construction of the Limbe Shipyard Project which Anglophones in general had been clamouring for. It is no longer news that the Francophones never wanted the project as it was going to give some economy autonomy to the Anglophones and perhaps legitimate their secessionist tendencies. The government had earmarked to put FCFA 184 billion to develop the Limbe Seaport after decades of neglect. Thee mere mention of this amount attracted envy and some Francophones could not understand how an Anglophone could be allowed to manage such funds. They cooked up his arrest in an attempt to destroy the Limbe shipyard dream. Antoine Bikoro Alo’o who flushed Forjindam out hails from the Ntem Valley Division where he is CPDM Section President. Immediately Forjindam was sacked, the Limbe Shipyard project collapsed and the Kribi Deep Sea port projected was projected and launched while the natural Limbe port lies fallow.

Another remote cause of Forjindam’s trouble is the fact that he refused to cede to pressure from some top notch regime barons who accorded a dredging project to a foreign company at an exorbitant amount and he indicated that the state was going to loose close to FCFA 6 billion and opting to do the job with a lesser amount and in a less prolonged time frame. This affront from Forjindam pricked the bile of those who wanted to benefit from the deal and they promised Forjindam hell.

Alleged Accounts of Zaccheus Forjindam
• Account n°02990167409-20 (HSBC) S/C Dominique Serny Morat, 12 avenue de Pessiart 06100 Nice Grimaldi France
Balance as of 31-12-2009 : 128.000 euros approximately 83.840.000 FCFA
• Account n°00541956401-82 (Code Banque 10107) S/C Stanislas Guillet 7B chemin des fleurs 97423 le Guillaume France
balance as of 31-12-2009 : 410.000 euros approximately 268.550.000 FCFA
• Account n°66163226000-15 (Code Banque 18306) S/C Henri Lecordier 14 passage Lienny 76280 Criquelot Lesnevales Paris
balance as of 31-12-2009 : 72.000 euros approximately 47.160.000 FCFA
• Account n°038412813-18-GR30 (INTESA San Paolo)
balance as of 16-12-2009 : 748.930.000 FCFA
• Account n°340154609 (SCALBERT Dupont Paris France)
balance as of 16-12-2009 : 12.091.641 euros approximately 7.920.024.855 FCFA
• Account n°124988018-5 (Caisse d’Epargne, rue de Mazenaud)
balance as of 31-12-2009 : 843.000 FCFA
•Account n°1000300100050034293891 (Général Caisse Epargne and Financement a Hamsphild Grande Bretagne)
balance not précised
• Account n°37170200011170130 TEG (National Financial Crédit)
balance not précised
• Account n°95392660001-35 (BICEC Cameroun)

Balance not precised
• Account n°736568N49 ( current account),
n°432616W24 (saving account),
n°960513C22 (lodging account)
(Crédit Lyonnais agence de l’Ecole Militaire 68 avenue Bosquet 75007 Paris)
balance not précised

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Donga Mantung SDO is Campaign Manager for CPDM SDF Officials Say

By Fai Cassian

Meeting at the Nkambe Community Hall today February 17, 2013, to evaluate the level of registration of potential voters ahead of the 2013 Municipal and Legislative elections, SDF officials have lamented that the Senior Divisional Officer for Donga Mantung Division has been campaigning for the CPDM party. SDF Member of Parliament Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian said his party has observed that during his meet the people’s tour, Ngone Ndodemesape Bernard who is supposed to be an administrator transformed self into a politician and was campaigning for the CPDM. Accordingly Hon. Awudu Mbaya told SDF local party officials that one time Tanyi Tarikia Martin and Oben Achu tried and it did not work. He however lamented that it is unfortunate that the Senior Divisional Officer has launched campaigns ahead of the official date in defiance of the law. He (Hon. Awudu Mbaya) cited an incident in Tabenken where the SDO praised Gerard Ngala for opening the road and when he (Ngone Ndodemesape Bernard) got to Wat and the population expressed joy that Hon. Awudu gave them electricity, he said it was given by the state. “Power” Hon Awudu noted is to rule the people and added that “if the SDO does his job in neutrality, he will be our friend but if he takes stand as CPDM campaign manager we will hate him”. According to Hon. Awudu Mbaya, there is no one who can kill the spirit of the SDF in Nkambe Central. “Let nobody be deceived that he can kill the spirit of the SDF party”. Hon. Awudu Mbaya reminded SDF local party officials of the incident that took place some years ago at Ndu where soldiers infiltrated broken bottles into women private parts and said time is coming when women (girls) will boycott all administrators in Donga Mantung Division. Hon. Awudu Mbaya recalled how he lost his sister during that incident. “If President Biya doesn’t come here to apologize and pay damages to all the women of Donga Mantung Division, no (woman/girl) will never ever give room to any administrator”.  However all attempts to get to Ngone Ndodemesape to react to the allegations were not fruitful.
 Speaking to this reporter after the meeting, the mayor of Nkambe, Mangoh Jones Tanko said that the issue of the Senior Divisional Officer playing the role of CPDM campaign manager came up during the evaluation and added “if that is how he (Ngone Ndodemesape) is going to work, he will have a lot of difficulties”. He said that the intimidation and the money that has been given to the administration will not change anything in Nkambe Central. Furthermore Hon. Awudu also castigated the fact that there is intoxication in Nkambe that the jangali tax paid by grazers is imposed on the population by the mayor, yet he said it is a lie. He also revealed that the CPDM is planning to impose 30 councilors who are not home based and that only 11 councilors will be selected locally. This Hon. Awudu said is a sign of greediness. He said no councilor has resigned from the SDF contrary to the intoxication that 9 councilors have resigned from the SDF to join the CPDM.

SDF militants frowned at the way the administration is encroaching into politics and vowed that come sun and, or rain, nobody will succeed to off root them.  It is alleged that while at Bih village and Binka, the SDO told the population to always clinch to government so that they could have more development projects yet the SDF sees this as violation of law. Mangoh said anyone who talks CPDM in Donga Mantung Division whereas for more than 60 years there is no road linking the divisional headquarters to the regional headquarters should considered himself as being in a state of sin. “ We must give the CPDM zero vote to express our anger”.

On her part the education secretary Madame Mary Awudu said that the CPDM is a sham because most of the top ranking ministers are in prison for cheating people of their resources. “They are cheats, liars and experts of intoxication” she added. She recounted how some CPDM party officials visited some homes telling old mothers and fathers that the elderly persons will not vote this year. She called on all the local party officials to keep the faith because only a fruitful tree will receive stones from wanton boys. “We are out to protect our victory and we are ready for the game”. She said CPDM militants of Donga Mantung are like the Pharisees. Accordingly, Mary Awudu said love is not money and drawing inspiration from Jeremiah 17, which states that “money dishonestly gotten turns you to a fool” she said when she looks at all those people from Yaounde she wonders whether they are from Mbumland.

At the end of the meeting, SDF local party officials announced that zonal conventions will kick-start this week. 
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa