Five days after being kidnapped by unknown assailants, the death of a well-known Cameroonian journalist was found on Sunday, June 22, near Yaounde, according to the press union and a colleague.
According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Martinez Zogo, the director of the for-profit radio station Amplitude FM, was abducted on January 17 by unidentified assailants after attempting to flee his attackers by entering a police station.
RSF reported that Zogo had lately discussed an alleged embezzlement issue involving a media outlet with connections to the government on broadcast.
The Cameroonian journalists’ trade union issued a statement saying, “Cameroonian media has now lost one of its colleagues, a victim of hatred and savagery.”
When working in the media suddenly involves a fatal risk, where is the freedom of the press, freedom of thought, and freedom of expression in Cameroon?
The editor-in-chief of Amplitude FM, Charlie Amie Tchouemou, who was Zogo’s colleague, verified both his death and his kidnapping.
The event is the most recent of several assaults on journalists in Cameroon.
Media advocates cited Martinez Zogo’s death and disappearance as another another example of the risks associated with reporting in the African nation.
