Cameroon: Ephraim Inoni, Hamidou Marafa Detained

George MBELLA (Cameroon Tribune)

Both former State officials were whisked off to the Kondengui Central Prison, Yaounde on Monday.

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Former Prime Minister and Head of Government, Chief Ephraim Inoni, and former Minister of State, Minister of Territorial Administration, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, were yesterday, Monday April 16, 2012 placed under pre-trial detention by the Mfoundi High Court in Yaounde.

Both former State officials had been interrogated behind closed doors by examining magistrates as part of the judicial process in the case now popularly known as the ‘Albatross Affair.’ Investigations were launched to track down all suspects in the failed purchase of a presidential aircraft in 2003.

The swarm of reporters who had gathered in front of the premises of the Examining Judge at the Mfoundi High Court yesterday morning was suggestive of the caliber of personalities being questioned in the presence of their lawyers and spouses.

Marafa Hamidou Yaya was the first to be escorted to the court premises in the company of his spouse and defence lawyer. Later at about 11:27 am, Chief Ephraim Inoni arrived with a similar entourage. Nothing filtered from the office to give a clue to the growing crowd as to the nature of the inquiry going on inside.

At 12:00 noon, Marafa Hamidou Yaya was escorted by plain-clothes security agents into a waiting ash-colour double cabin Toyota Hilux pick up van and driven to the Kondengui Central Prison. At 1:50 pm, while the suspense continued, another person dressed in ash grey suit was whisked off from the court premises by the same escort in the same vehicle. Reports gathered revealed that the person was Michel Mekiage, a practising barrister who reportedly played a key role as government’s lawyer in the suit against former Minister Jean Marie Atangana Mebara who is prison custody. Mekiage’s detention threw a pang of speculations as to his role in the ‘Albatross Affair’.

At 2:00 pm, Chief Ephraim Inoni was seen emerging from the office in the company of his spouse, lawyer and a battery of armed gendarmes. He was placed in a Toyota Hiace bus that sped off to the Kondengui Prison.

The pre-trial detentions mark another phase in the Albatross Affair wherein several State and corporate officials are alleged to have swindled over FCFA 15 billion intended for the purchase of a presidential aircraft in 2003. Chief Ephraim Inoni and Marafa Hamidou Yaya join other suspects such as business magnate, Yves Michel Fotso, Ambassador Jerome Mendouga, former Minister Jean Marie Atangana Mebara, amongst others, at the Yaounde Central Prison.

Comments

[Nnoko Johnson]

This seem to me like a joke...these arrests suggest that Mr Biya has no friend indeed, If Ephraim Inoni, a Loyal former P.M can be whisked to kondengui Prison in an undignified manner...it is evident to conclude that the Biya government has lost sanity.
Biya is simply biting the fingers that fed him, especially as he has tampered with Marafa, the brain behind rigged elections in Mr Biya's favour...I wonder what the future holds for the lion man.

[J. S. Dinga]

Is it the very Inoni Ephraim we credited with Operation ANTILOPE(Application Nationale de Traitement Informatique et Logistique des Operations des Personnels de l'Etat) to fish out ghost workers from the civil service and save the government a heavy wage bill? What a reward for a job well done! In a way it should come as no surprise to anyone, given what happened to famous engineer of the Chantier Naval in Douala. Zaccheus Forjindam did everything to bring pride and hope to Cameroonians in the port of Douala. And he did something else - distribute cocoa boys like confetti to his native sons and daughters during those election campaigns where he and Simon Achidi Achu were pitted to neuralize John Fru Ndi, another son of the soil.

[fireman]

well another clever way to divert the minds of cameroon who will believe that paul biya is doing a great job,we got real issues such as high unemployment,poverty,service delivery that areplaquing our country and are a call for concern,all this arrest how is it helping an ordinary cameroon? This money will not be brought back,asset wil nt be confiscated,tackle real issue that can changr people life

[anye Wasuh]

It is a redicule that a head of state will treat members who had once served in his administration the way he is doing. We are talking about a former prime minister here.Ministers and all have embezelled tons of public funds and have not been investigated.This tells you how selfish the president is.The only reason he is so committed to this investigation is due to the fact that it concerned a presidential air craft. Mr Biya, you here have made it clear that it is of no interest to you of funds are embezelled leaving the masses in poverty as long as you are not directly affected. Shame on you. Start by setting an example and bring back all you have embezelled .

[J. S. Dinga]

It is sickening, isn't it, how the president uses top level, well educated citizens and then tosses them away like toilet paper? But will Cameroonians learn?

[Observer]

Biya is sending these guys to jail over what really? Did Cameroon actually need a Presidential Jet; when there much more important factors in the country to be tackled with money?He wanted to buy a Presidential jet he would have been using for his numerous Trips his Geneva Hotels, where he lives.It serves him right.
But Biya should be careful, if not, he might end up imprisoning his own son. Anyway,what could we expect from a man whom due to his much greed murders his own wife for Power?Biya is an Angel of the Devil. So anyone who is serving, gaining or surviving from his government should be prepared when he is being asked by his" master " to pay back. All these people whom Biya, (the Devil´s Angel sent top rule Cameroon), have been dinning with the Devil, so are now paying their Dues.Biya got no permanent friend but rather his permanent selfish Interest.

He is now exposing himself by sending away those whom have worked to keep him there in Etudi. I´m afraid he is like cutting the Branch on which he has been standing.
God will use Biya to destroy all of his cohorts and in the end, he will be left isolated like an Inselberg for Cameroonians to deal with him. If he dies without Justice being done, Frank ,Chantal, Junior and Brender are still there to pay back for his actions....

[Observer]

Biya is sending these guys to jail over what really? Did Cameroon actually need a Presidential Jet; when there much more important factors in the country to be tackled with money?He wanted to buy a Presidential jet he would have been using for his numerous Trips his Geneva Hotels, where he lives.It serves him right.
But Biya should be careful, if not, he might end up imprisoning his own son. Anyway,what could we expect from a man whom due to his much greed murders his own wife for Power?Biya is an Angel of the Devil. So anyone who is serving, gaining or surviving from his government should be prepared when he is being asked by his" master " to pay back. All these people whom Biya, (the Devil´s Angel sent to derail and destroy Cameroon), have been dinning with the Devil, so are now paying their Dues.Biya got no permanent friend but rather his permanent selfish Interest.

He is now exposing himself by sending away those whom have worked to keep him there in Etudi. I´m afraid he is like cutting the Branch on which he has been standing.
God will use Biya to destroy all of his cohorts and in the end, he will be left isolated like an Inselberg for Cameroonians to deal with him. If he dies without Justice being done, Frank ,Chantal, Junior and Brenda are still there to pay back for his actions....

We need Biya to tell us where he is keeping all the money he has stolen(Cameroon Bank,National Produce Marketing Board,Farmers´Bank, all which he brought down by embezzling from them) before he dies and the money remains in Europe like with Mobutu of Zaire.

[k.town boy]

when concern mr paul biya this is arrest but when it concerns the ordinary cameroonian it is the cameroonian way. when can we be serious in our belove country cameroon.

[k.town boy]

since 1996 the cameroonian revised constitution is in place in principle but the only article that has been enacted since day one is all about paul biya. to increase presidential mandate from 5ys to 7yrs and now to run for life. Is cameroon centered only about Paul Biya.

[k.town boy]

contact me for great historical pics.

[Scott]

Biya simply wants to divert public opinion from the scandalous electoral code adopted by his CPDM parliamentarians and promugated into law the following day.The arrest of these guys is a non issue to the ordinary cameroonian.His parliamentarians could not vote for a good and long lasting electoral code because that could have been barring their chances of coming back to the GLASS HOUSE.It would have been like asking a fish to vote for a burdget to buy a hook.

[[email protected]]

Shame!!shame,this is really biting my stomach hearing that BIYA finally gailed marafa and inoni,this signify only him is untauchable,after this guys helped him all these years to realized his selfish intrest,i want biya to just think about this point and question,,,just in five years time how WILL HIS FACE LOOK LIKE??will be face his probe alive???please mr biya stop all these mess,you need now only to reconcile with all cameroonians,,where is our former persident???you still have alot to answer,

[kavava]

Why is Biya keeping people behind bars? The state of Cameroon & Cameroon tax payers are the victims in this whole saga, and Biya as head of the Republic should explain to the people why such a huge amount of state fund was directed in the first place for such an unprofitable venture.

We thank him for nothing done !

[Kapris]

This has been an intense discussion. I am an expat who left Cameroon at a very young age. It really saddens me to see that Paul Biya continues to terrorise Cameroonians with his egocentric attitude and megalomania! I sense a heap of paranoia on his part, which is only normal for someone who is constantly offending millions of people everyday!!! I feel no pity for these men because they are just as bad as Biya for sustaining his tyranny on Cameroonians all along. They all had it coming! I can't help but wonder; how will they seek redemption for their actions? Will this teach them a lesson? Will others learn from it?
Someone asked how Cameroonians can find out where Biya has been hiding all the money. Hard to tell right now, though not hard to guess. All I can say is that no one lives forever talkless of being president for ever. Look at Mugabe. The Senegalese have even set an example of what can be done about this. They sued the son of the ex-president Abdoulaye Wade for all his excessive lifesyle with the country's dollas! In the same way Cameroonians may one day do the same asking a court to investigate Biya and his entourage's fraudulent behaviour and to locate and obtain all the cash!