Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze has been banned from leaving the country amid an investigation into his alleged involvement in the assassination of journalist Martinez Zogo.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered late today that a prosecutor is seeking charges against Mr Motaze, who has been asked to explain his links with a key suspect in the killing, French Cameroun business tycoon Amougou Belinga.

Records show the two men had multiple phone calls just hours before the assassination, prosecutors say.

Minister Motaze reportedly wrote to Prime Minister Dion Ngute asking for permission to lead a delegation abroad for the signing with Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) whose headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland, an amendment to a contract on the program to secure customs revenues.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that on February 23, 2023, the Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office wrote to Minister Motaze to inform him that Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute has rejected his request.

Kidnapped during the night of January 17, 2023 in Yaoundé, the journalist and whistleblower Arsène Salomon Mbami Zogo alias Martinez Zogo, was found on January 22, lifeless and his body mutilated.

Motaze’s name and that of Justice Minister Laurent Esso were mentioned during the hearings related to the murder of Martinez Zogo. The Head of State could at any time give his high approval for the auditioning of these two ministers.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai