For Attempting To Skip Detention: Abah Abah Jailed For 6 Years!

- Forjindam’s Appeal Progresses As Experts Say He Is Innocent

By Yussuf Sariki

Polycarp Abah Abah, former Minister of Finance has been sentenced to six (6) years imprisonment. The sentence was slammed last week (Tuesday June 19, 2012 at about midnight), by the Ekounou (Yaounde) Court of First Instance. Abah Abah was found guilty for having attempted to escape from prison. A senior police officer, Magloire Minkala Minkala in charge to supervise his movement, was also found guilty for complicity in the attempted escape; meanwhile three prison warders were also each sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. Meanwhile Zaccheus Mungwi Forjindam who has appealed a 12-year jail term had his matter in court also last week.

Abah Abah’s verdict came ahead of the real matter which took Abah Abah to Kondengui. The former Minister of Finance has for the past 4 years been detained at the Kondengui prison, awaiting trial for his alleged embezzlement of public funds. Abah Abah has rarely appeared in court over the matter, yet, the verdict last week came to aggravate his plight and hopes.

Worthy to note, that last May 11, 2012 Abah Abah received authorization from Kondengui prison authorities to attend to his Doctor in hospital. He was provided with a police and three warders. Abah Abah, is said to have effectively met his physician and because he still had time, decided to drive to his private residence at Odza, a neighbourhood in Yaounde.

Abah Abah was not long at his resident, when security forces stormed the scene and picked him up, alongside the warders. He was thereafter charged for attempting to escape from prison. The matter came up in court until last week, when the verdict was passed.

Meanwhile, the Zaccheus Forjindam appeal case also came up at the littoral court of appeal in Douala last week. Forjindam had been slammed a 12 year jail term by the Wouri High Court in 2010. Yet, Forjindam’s lawyers appealed the verdict.

The appeal took a dramatic twist two months ago, when the college of judges was changed. The main judge, Justice Minko Minko ruled for the matter to begin afresh. The appeal court had however admitted to look into the audit report done by supreme state auditors, at the instructions of the head of state. The appeal too has dragged-on given requests both by the judged for his other colleagues recently introduced to the matter, to study the file. On the other hand, lawyers of Chantier Naval too at one-time requested the matter to be prolonged so that they too study the voluminous documents/file introduced and placed at their disposal.

Forjindam was nailed by the Wouri High Court, which based it logic on the audit report conducted by a private audit, alleged to have been spin doctored.

Last week (June 20, 2012) as the appeal court sat on the Forjindam affair, the report of three experts was taken into cognizance. Ngua Elembe, Colette Eding (financial experts) and Jean Pierre Zouaton (an expert accountant) appeared as witnesses in the court. The two told the court that after going through documents and files, they came out with the fact that there was neither an element of embezzlement or double payment effected by Forjindam while he was General Manager of Chantier Naval.

Commentators hold that the manner in which Forjindam’s appeal is going through may lead to him being released/set free. All the 32 files placed at the disposal of the experts to examine, extricate Forjindam from the embezzlement crime/judgment slammed on him by the Wouri High Court.