Martinez Zogo was managing director of Yaounde-based private radio station Amplitude FM and the star host of a popular daily programme, Embouteillage (Gridlock).
On the air, the 51-year-old regularly tackled cases of corruption, not hesitating to question important personalities by name. He had been missing since Tuesday.
“I went to Ebogo (15km north of Yaounde) early this morning where I saw and recognised the body of Martinez Zogo. The prosecutor’s deputy was present and his wife was there to identify him,” Amplitude FM radio editor-in-chief Charly Tchouemou told AFP.
The death of Zogo was confirmed to AFP by a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Government of Cameroon confirms that body of missing journalist Martinez Zogo has been found and that investigations are underway.
Mr Zogo was the director of Radio Amplitude, and had been vocal on matters related to government corruption.
He had been kidnapped on 17th January. pic.twitter.com/QyhPDJHbsC— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) January 23, 2023
‘Brutal abduction’
A large crowd gathered as Zogo’s body was taken to the morgue of Yaounde central hospital for an autopsy, a member of the victim’s family told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Social media has been awash with posts following his disappearance with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemning “the brutal abduction of a journalist“.
According to RSF, Zogo’s badly damaged car was found outside a police station in a suburb of the Cameroonian capital Yaounde on Tuesday.
I don’t know what to say man!😭
Early days of @RadioSiantou, I worked with #MartinezZogo.
A fun, funny, outspoken & fearless guy who rose from nothing to the sharpest, wittiest journarlist/radio host #Cameroon ever knew.
Once again evil has darkened the nation.😭 pic.twitter.com/f09wTFhS9f
— Kathleen Ndongmo (@KathleenNdongmo) January 22, 2023
“There are many grey areas regarding the circumstances of his brutal abduction,” Sadibou Marong, head of the sub-Saharan Africa office of RSF, told AFP.
“The authorities must launch a rigorous, thorough and independent investigation to establish the full chain of responsibility and the circumstances that led to this sad event,” Marong said.
Cameroon’s national journalists’ union condemned a “heinous assassination” and urged media workers to wear black on January 25 as a sign of mourning.
We can ask ourselves the question: whose turn is it? Each of us can find ourselves in this situation for something that we might have said.
The International Press Institute, a Vienna-based press freedom organisation, urged Cameroonian authorities to “promptly investigate the horrific murder and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice”.
The political opposition was also indignant, with Social Democratic Front (SDF) deputy Jean-Michel Nintcheu denouncing a “crime which cannot go unpunished”.
On Sunday, several Cameroonian television channels dedicated their programmes to Zogo’s death.
#Cameroun Ils ont tué Martinez Zogo ! pic.twitter.com/hW3hQyFCPt
— Onanina (@ValdezOnanina) January 23, 2023
Cameroonian-French writer Calixthe Beyala said she was “dejected, saddened” by news of his death.
“I knew he was dead as soon as it was announced that he was kidnapped,” she told Info TV.
“We can ask ourselves the question: whose turn is it? Each of us can find ourselves in this situation for something that we might have said.”
