A year after the gruesome murder of journalist Martinez Zogo, authorities in Cameroon are yet to fully shed light on the circumstances surrounding his kidnapping, torture, and killing.
Martinez was 50 years old when his body was found on an empty plot of land in Ebogo, a locality in Yaounde, Cameroon, on 22 January 2023. He had left his radio station, Amplitude FM, at about 8 PM on 17 January. People saw a group of men in a black Toyota Prado follow his car as he drove quickly to a nearby Gendarmerie brigade.
But the gate was closed, his car was hit by the Prado, and the journalist was spirited away. Five days later, his naked corpse was found dumped on the outskirts of the capital.
Following Zogo’s abduction and killing, authorities arrested several people, including two key suspects, Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, and Léopold Maxime Eko Eko. However, the military court in charge of the matter has yet to conclude its investigation.
One of the suspects, Amougou Belinga is a businessman and media tycoon who
owns the newspaper L’Anecdote and TV channels Vision 4 and Telesud while Maxim Eko Eko is the director of the state external intelligence service.
On December 1, a leaked military court document showed that a release order was allegedly signed by Justice Sikati II Kamo, ordering the pair’s release from continued detention. However, Justice Kamo denied the report as ‘false information’. A few days later, the judge was replaced by another magistrate.
Consequently, in less than ten months, two judges working on the Martinez Zogo investigation have been removed and replaced by the authorities. This has not only derailed the investigation and the court proceedings but has raised concerns about interference by the authorities in the case, casting doubt on the independence of the judicial system in Cameroon.
Recently, reports said that another public official, Stéphane Martin Savom, mayor of Bibey municipality, in the center of Cameroon, was summoned for interrogation, plus other alleged suspects in connection wi
th the case.
The investigation into the murder of Zogo is believed to hold considerable suspense, given the implication already of top public figures and close allies to rival political clans in the country.
However, family members of the late host of the ‘Embouteillage program’, organized a mass on January 17, 2024, to pay him homage, followed by Amplitude’s staff on January 18, 2024, while they wait for the government to get hold of Martinez’s murders.
Source: Cameroon News Agency
The Addis Ababa City Administration in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ethiopian Diaspora Service organized an official welcoming ceremony for the Second-Generation Ethiopians at Friendship Park today.
It is to be recalled that the premier invited the second-generation diaspora to come to their origin in three rounds from 30th December 2023 to the end of September 2024 under the theme ‘Back to your origins.’
The first-round homecoming under the motto “Connect to Your Culture” began from 30 December 2023 and ends on 29 January 2024.
As part of the first round of the invitation, Ethiopian Diasporas from across the globe are arriving in Addis Ababa.
An official welcoming ceremony has been conducted today for the Second-Generation Ethiopians at Friendship Park today.
This event marks official welcoming of the first phase Ethiopians abroad returning to their homeland.
Speaking on the event, Addis Ababa City Administration Mayor Adanech Abiebie officially welco
med them inviting to know Ethiopia well and contribute to their homeland where they should certainly be proud of to invite others visit it.
The Mayor lauded their courage in choosing to experience Ethiopia firsthand, defying inaccurate portrayals often disseminated through social media and certain media outlets.
Tourism Minister, Nasise Chali highlighted Ethiopia’s wealth of stunning destinations and dives experiences just waiting to be discovered, including the Ethiopian Epiphany festivity set to be celebrated this weekend.
The minister urged the returning Ethiopians to become ambassadors of their homeland, sharing its beauty and immense resources with the world.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
International arrivals into Kenya have grown by 18.42 percent in the last 16 months with the country receiving 273,412 more visitors, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, has said.
Mwaura said that the country was able to rake in an additional Sh.650 million from the tourism sector alone, due to spending in hotels has also increased by three percent with regards to bed occupancy.
Mwaura said that this means that more money has been injected into the economy, as hotels realize more profits seeing that the number of days that tourists spend in Kenya, has increased by one day from 10 to 11 days.
Addressing the Press, Thursday, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on the insights of the ongoing Service Delivery Review Roadshow, Mwaura said that Tourism is the fourth largest foreign exchange, earner in the country.
‘We pride ourselves as a very hospitable country, with our slogan ‘Hakuna Matata’ being a global catchphrase for international travel. Our country is now visa free meaning that we
shall have more visitors coming into our country going forward,’ said Mwaura.
He explained that tourists come to Kenya primarily to see animals and the government is putting in place measures to ensure that the endangered species such as the Northern Rhino- whose current population is only two in the country do not become extinct.
‘Kenya has also increased training opportunities for 1,044 youth under the Kenya Kwanza Administration in the tourism sector. These graduates will help support this growing sector of the economy, whose full potential is yet to be realized,’ said Mwaura.
He highlighted that the Ronald Ngala Utalii Training College, that will be opened in June this year will have a capacity to train 5,000 youth at a go.
‘The focus is to make the college a centre of excellence on export labour to countries such as Saudi Arabia, that is building a new city, requiring 350,000 workers,’ said Mwaura.
At the same time, Mwaura revealed that the country has become a popular destination for international
Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) travel.
According to Mwaura, last year alone, local and international conferences hit the 10,000 mark with an increase of 2,151 conferences, and over 14,000 delegates from around the world.
He added that a total of 869 youth were recruited last year alone to work in foreign ships thus earning an income for their families in foreign currency.
‘An additional 621 common interest groups comprising fishermen and other forms of trade within the blue economy were given grants amounting to Sh.1.5 billion in the last one year to boost their businesses,’ said Mwaura.
He said that in addition, 26 boats have been donated by the government to eight Beach Management Units (BMUs) while 875 fishermen have been trained on how to fish in the deep sea.
Source: Kenya News Agency