HRW demands justice for Zogo, Ola Bebe murders as warning to killers of journalists

By Hans Ngala

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has joined the bandwagon of press freedom and human rights organizations requesting justice for the killings of radio presenters Martinez Zogo and his fellow radio reporter, Rev. Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe.
In a statement, Lewis Mudge, the organization’s Central Africa director stated that “Fair and transparent trials of all those accused in connection with Zogo’s murder need to be guaranteed and these recent arrests demonstrate that maybe, with all the public glare, the government will live up to its responsibility and genuinely seek justice”.
He added, “Justice for both Zogo and Ola Bebe will send a strong message that those who kill journalists will be held accountable. But equally important, the government needs to actively protect journalists who strive to expose abuses. Journalism needs to stop being a high-risk profession in Cameroon”.
Martinez Zogo was a broadcaster with Amplitude FM in Yaounde and was kidnapped on January 17. His body was later found on January 22 in a decomposing state with some of his fingers chopped off, his tongue twisted and a metal rod rammed into his rectum according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
For his part, Rev. Ola Bebe was an Orthodox priest who was friends with Zogo and worked at another radio station prior to his killing in early February, also said he had been receiving death threats as well.
The Zogo murder has revived media attention on Cameroon as the country grapples with multiple crises from a stressed economy that has caused prices to soar to a deadly conflict in the Anglophone part of the country.
The developments come on the heels of Cameroon’s 57th national Youth Day celebrations which separatists have vowed to disrupt in the Anglophone regions.
President Biya turns 90 on February 13, but Reporters Without Borders have warned that his birthday could be eclipsed by the subsequent arrests of Zogo’s killers who are high-profile individuals with close connections to the government.