Shocking evidence emerges in martinez zogo murder trial

The highly anticipated trial surrounding the murder of Martinez Zogo, a prominent Cameroonian radio host whose lifeless body was discovered in January 2023 following severe violence, resumed on June 1, 2026, at the military court in Yaoundé. The proceedings took a dramatic turn as a previously unseen video was presented, depicting Zogo bloodied and bound, desperately calling for help. The footage was extracted from the digital files of one of the accused individuals.

This June 1 hearing at the Yaoundé military tribunal focused on the case of Martinez Zogo, a radio host from Cameroon‘s Amplitudes FM, renowned for his outspoken criticism of public figures. Zogo was abducted before his tragic murder in January 2023.

The session featured testimony from Professor Georges Bell Bitjocka, a forensic IT expert who analyzed the data stored on the accused individuals’ mobile devices.

A series of disturbing screenshots and a harrowing video of Martinez Zogo’s torture were unveiled for the first time. The footage showed the radio host pleading for mercy, his hands bound behind his back, with a visible wound on one ear and his face covered in blood.

Silence and sorrow in the courtroom

The graphic content left the courtroom in stunned silence, with several attendees moved to tears. Ludovic Zabze, defense attorney for Amplitudes FM, shared his visceral reaction: “The moment the video ended, I turned away. I looked at the accused—they were visibly shaken. The emotional impact is overwhelming.”

The video was recovered from the Google account of Godje Oumarou, one of the accused and a suspected member of the commando responsible for Zogo’s execution.

During a recorded conversation on the evening of January 17, 2023, Godje Oumarou communicated with Justin Danwe, a former operations director at Cameroon’s Directorate General of External Research (DGRE). Danwe instructed him to “take the images of the mouse,” a coded reference to Martinez Zogo.

For his part, defense lawyer Séri Zokou, representing Maxime Eko Eko, the former DGRE director general, vehemently denied any connection between his client and the crime: “There is no evidence whatsoever linking my client to these events. The phone data submitted to the joint investigation commission and the investigating judge contained nothing implicating him.”

Professor Georges Bell Bitjocka also examined the phones of other accused individuals, including Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, Bruno Bidjang, and Martin Savom.

Calvin Job, legal representative for Zogo’s family, emphasized the significance of the forensic findings: “If the court relies on this report, it will have already completed 98% of its work.”

Recalling the Martinez Zogo case

On the morning of January 22, 2023, Cameroonians were shocked by the discovery of Martinez Zogo’s lifeless body—real name Arsène Salomon Mbani Zogo—near Yaoundé. The 51-year-old radio personality, known for his morning show Embouteillages, was a bold critic of societal issues and powerful figures in Cameroon, though he notably refrained from targeting President Paul Biya.

Zogo had been abducted on the evening of January 17 and was found dead the following morning, approximately 25 kilometers from the capital, bearing clear signs of brutal assault.

The investigative judge, Colonel-magistrate Pierrot Narcisse Nzie, concluded the judicial inquiry by indicting 17 suspects, all currently in detention. Among them were Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, former DGRE chief; Lieutenant Colonel Justin Danwe, ex-DGRE operations director; Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, media mogul and owner of L’Anecdote; and Stéphane Martin Savom, a local mayor and administrative official from Cameroon’s Central Region.

Initially delayed by procedural hurdles, the trial for murder, torture, abduction, and unlawful detention in the Martinez Zogo case commenced on March 25, 2024, at the Yaoundé military court. Substantive hearings began on September 1, 2025.