Divide and rule:

How gov’t protects thieving military magistrates

They received huge sums of money from the state treasury which they allocated to themselves. However, they are walking free today while the paymaster general who instructed that they be paid is in jail

By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde

Laurent Esso

Investigations by The Median have revealed that some magistrates in uniform are amongst the most corrupt public servants in Cameroon. When they have the means, they dip their hands in the state treasury with impunity. However, probably because they have guns and other destructive weapons at their disposal, they are highly protected by the powers that be.

                Such is the case of a number of them who were paid a whopping sum of 6 billion FCFA as emoluments from the 2009 to the 2013 financial year, which they allocated to themselves. It later on came to the notice of government authorities that the allocations, some of which were as much as 25 million FCFA each, were unduly made. Otherwise put, the military magistrates did not deserve the money they received from the public treasury.

                As a consequence, Emmanuel MbiaEnguené, the paymaster general for Yaounde at the time, who ordered the payment of the money to the military men of law, was arrested and sent to the Kondengui central prison where he is currently languishing. In the meantime, the dishonest military magistrates are walking free!

                Observers see this as a clear case of travesty of justice as they argue that the men in uniform and not the paymaster general should be behind bars.

                “What is this nonsense we are witnessing in this country?” TchakounangCédric, a Douala-based human rights activist, lamented to this newspaper at the weekend. “It is high time we stood up against this kind of divide and rule that the high and mighty are practicing. Is it the paymaster general who signed out the various sums of money to the military magistrates? Absolutely not! It is the latter who allocated the money to themselves. Undeservedly! Consciously! So what is Emmanuel Mbia doing in prison? And what are the men in uniform doing outside?”

                The Median further learned that the Ministry of Defense and the Special Criminal Tribunal (TCS) set up a mixed commission on 2 December 2014 to urge the thieving military magistrates to pay back into the state treasury the money they unduly received from it. At the head of the commission is Emile ZéphyrinNsoga, the procureur-general of the TCS, who has since notified each of the magistrates of the amount they stole and called on them to pay it back within six months, beginning from the date of notification. 

                From what we gathered, however, only one of the accused, Retired Col. Magistrate Pangop Louis Batipewe has paid back the entire amount (10 million FCFA) that he collected. All the others, we learned, have paid just parts of theirs.

                Their names, amounts collected and amounts paid back are as follows: Col. AbegaMbezoaEko, Examining Magistrate at the Yaounde military tribunal, YMT, (8 million collected, 1.5 million paid back); Col. Pierre Desire Mviena, Magistrate at the Bafoussam military tribunal (27 million collected, 5 million paid back); Col. Kengne, Magistrate and Vice President of the YMT (22 million collected, 7 million paid back); Jean LegrandMvondoAkoutou, Magistrate and President of the YMT (27 million collected, 4 million paid back); Pascal SylvestreDjiofack, Lieutenant Col. working at the military justice headquarters (29 million collected, 500 thousand paid back); and CyrilleSergesAtonfackNguemo, Lieutenant working for the “état major” of the national marine (12 million collected, 5 million paid back).

                The said amounts of money were paid back into the state treasury between 5 January and 6 June 2015.