Mengue Blandine née Belinga accused for embezzling FCFA 100 million was absent in court.

The case pitting the State of Cameroon (Cameroon Radio and Television) and Mrs Mengue Blandine née Belinga was again adjourned yesterday, Novermber 4, at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde due to the fact that the complementary information requested by the Legal Department from the examining magistrate was not ready. This made it impossible for the court to commence hearing on the matter. The Head of the panel of Judges, Mr Justice Michel Jean-Claude Onana adjourned the case to November 21, 2013 for supplementary information to be made available.

Since the case was brought to the Special Criminal Court some six months back, hearing has never taken place because of the complementary information needed. According to the case file, the widow Mrs Mengue Blandine née Belinga is accused of embezzling public funds worth FCFA 100 million. Since the matter was brought to the Special Criminal Court, the Legal Department said they do not understand why Mrs Mengue Blandine is being accused of embezzlement because it is said that CRTV gave her FCFA 100 million as compensation for using her land to construct the Cameroon Radio and Television Centre for Audio-Visual Professionals at Ekounou neighbourhood Yaounde. Hence, the Legal Department sent the case back to the examining magistrate for complementary information concerning the payment because they want to know the basis of the payment, see documents which justify the payment of the money and if the payment was legal, amongst many other things. The Legal Department had earlier said it is only when the examining magistrate will react that the hearing of the case will continue.

Present during yesterday's brief court session for the second time was a representative of the General Manager of CRTV, Pie Ndemba, Technical Adviser at CRTV. It is said that the matter at hand dates back to the 1990s when Professor Gervais Mendo Ze was the General Manager of CRTV. Pie Ndemba once told pressmen that during Gervais Mendo Ze's tenure as General Manager of CRTV, he paid some FCFA 100 million to the widow, Mrs Mengue Blandine née Belinga, and her family whose land was taken to be used by CRTV. The Technical Adviser said when the government took Mrs Mengue Blandine's land to be used by the State, they were not compensated. But when the Land was given to CRTV, the family requested some FCFA 510 as compensation for their land and CRTV gave her some FCFA 100 million. Pie Ndemba however explained that somebody is moving around saying that the money has been embezzled.