Martinez Zogo Trial: Defense Lawyers Refute Claims Linking Savom to Zogo, Balla murder
By Synthia Lateu
Former Mayor of Bibey, Savom Martin, who is currently being held at the Kondengui Central Prison, could be implicated in the murder of Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Balla. He was cited during the ongoing hearing at the Yaoundé Military Tribunal in connection with the Martinez Zogo case, which took a dramatic turn on Monday, November 24, 2025, when prosecution witness Alain Ékassi took the stand.
Testifying beyond the Martinez Zogo affair, Ékassi claimed that Savom Martin was allegedly involved not only in the killing of the journalist but also in the murder of Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Balla.
However, the Collective of Lawyers for Savom Martin stressed in a press release dated November 25 that Ékassi never stated that Savom Martin was the author of Martinez Zogo’s assassination. They insisted he “could never make such a claim” as he possesses no evidence whatsoever.
According to the lawyers, Ékassi said it was from one ALINGA, accompanied by EMINI, that he allegedly heard that Savom Martin was the killer of both Martinez Zogo and the late Bishop Balla. This clarification was made in the communiqué signed by Barristers Ananga Clément, Nyimedok Mireille, and Nanga Ewome, counsel for the defense.
The lawyers added that, given the clearly indirect and irrelevant nature of the testimony, the Government Commissioner ordered the appearance of the individuals named ALINGA and EMINI.
According to the Collective, the hearing was manipulated, to the detriment of judicial impartiality, in order to mislead the public into believing that the statements of “a dubious and evidently manipulative witness” had suddenly become established fact. They condemned circulating narratives claiming that witness Ékassi had identified Savom Martin as the assassin of Martinez Zogo, and that, consequently, some of the other accused persons should now be considered innocent and released.
The Collective reminded the authors of this “campaign of disinformation and defamation” against Savom Martin that such actions are criminally punishable.
Bishop Balla was found dead in 2017 under circumstances that deeply shocked both the national and international community. His body was discovered in the waters of the Sanaga River.
This testimony before the military court now places Savom Martin at the center of two of Cameroon’s most high-profile judicial and political tragedies in recent years
