Niamey News

Cameroon’s CNC suspends Vision 4 for one month over Martinez Zogo trial coverage

The National Communication Council (CNC) of Cameroon has suspended Vision 4, a television channel owned by businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, for one month. The regulator accuses the channel of multiple violations in its coverage of the Martinez Zogo murder trial. The decision, announced on Tuesday, bars the station from broadcasting any audiovisual programs during the suspension period.

Regulator cites repeated violations

The CNC stated that Vision 4’s managers questioned its authority and failed to respond to a summons. The channel had already been sanctioned in June, along with journalist Martial Thaddée Owona and his director Philippe Boni Menyene, after airing a report that, according to the CNC, contained statements undermining the dignity of a lawyer representing the civil parties. The regulator claims that this earlier sanction was “barely applied” and accuses the channel of subsequently broadcasting new content that again targeted the same lawyer.

Amougou Belinga’s group also hit

In a parallel move, the CNC suspended for one month Jean-Claude Fouda Abega, publication director of the daily L’Anecdote, another media outlet belonging to Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga’s group. The newspaper had published an article containing, according to the regulator, “unfounded, insulting, and offensive” remarks about the same lawyer.

Trial continues amid sanctions

These sanctions come as the trial of Martinez Zogo proceeds before the military court in Yaoundé. The radio host was abducted on January 17, 2023, near a gendarmerie post in the capital. His body, naked and mutilated, was found five days later. Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga is charged with complicity in kidnapping, torture, and murder. He appears alongside former Director General of External Research (DGRE) Léopold Maxime Eko Eko and Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe, accused of leading the commando involved in the journalist’s abduction.