Judgment has been slated for November 5, 2014 at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde.

The fate of Gotingar Samuel in the case pitting the State of Cameroon and the Ministry of Finance against him will soon be known. The last but one hearing took place at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde yesterday October 22, 2014.

According to the case file, Samuel Gotingar is accused of embezzling FCFA 66,760,779 belonging to the Touboro Council when he was municipal treasurer there between 2012 and 2013. The act is contrary to Articles 74 and 184 of the Penal Code.

The session before a panel of judges led by the Vice President of the Court, Mr. Justice Francis Moukoury, focused on the presentations of submissions by the defence bench. Defence Lawyer, Barrister Georges Armand Ondowe, submitted that a control team from Garoua went into the office of Gotingar Samuel who was in detention in the Tchollire Prison.

After the control, it was noticed that there was a bank deficit of over FCFA 40 million, cash shortage of FCFA 18 million and deficit in slaughter house taxes, market tickets and municipal parking lots for the sum of FCFA 8 million, making a total of FCFA 66 million.

He argued that for the FCFA 40 million bank deficit, Gotingar Samuel went to Garoua on April 3, 2014 on the instructions of the mayor to withdraw the amount from the account of the Touboro Council in Afriland First Bank.

The FCFA 40 million included the salaries of workers of January 2013. The accused went with a driver and owner of the vehicle, Dingam Daikoro as well as one agent of the council with whom he always travelled. While returning to Toubouro, they were attacked by armed robbers who took away the money. He then pleaded the court to declare Gotingar not guilty of embezzling FCFA 40 million as he was a victim of armed robbery.

For the FCFA 18 million deficit, he claimed that it was the mayor of Touboro who took the money and he had produced documents to prove that he took the money but paid it to the treasury paymaster. The receipts were received by Sanda Takoua in the Garoua Treasury. For the FCFA 8 million which was deficit incurred from slaughter house taxes, market space taxes as well as parking fees around the municipality.

Gotingar was in detention at the Tchollire Prison when the control team went to him office. He argued that in all the counts against Gotingar, the prosecution had not been able to produce enough any evidence to prove that his client was guilty.

He said in the absence of any proof, he pleads on the court to declare Gotingar not guilty of embezzling FCAF 66,760,779. The presiding judge adjourned the case to November 5, 2014 for judgment as well as its ruling on the competence of the court.