Some 14 suspects including Divisional Officers, DOs, and officials of State Property and Land Tenure are now languishing in pre-trial detention at the Kondengui Prison in Yaounde.

They were arrested recently for allegedly embezzling FCFA 4 billion allocated for the compensation of people who were displaced by the construction of the Kribi Seaport. They will face trial for the embezzlement of public funds and fraud.

The suspects are mostly officials who served in Kribi, Ocean Division of the South Region between 2006 and 2011.

Surprisingly, one of the suspects is the former Senior Divisional Officer for Ocean, Jean Francois Vilon, who was peacefully enjoying his retirement before the Sparrow Hawk Operation fell on him on April 26. The Divisional Officer for Zoetele in the Dja and Lobo Division of the South Region, Placide Kuntz Ndobo, who was the first Assistant SDO for Ocean at the time, is among those detained.

Equally languishing in the dragnet of the law, is the current DO for Bangangte in the West Region, Joseph Eyebe Eyebe, who was the second Assistant SDO for Ocean Division at the time. Other arrested include officials of the Divisional Delegation of State Property and Land Tenure and Agriculture and Rural Development as well as former Regional officials.

The Post learnt that the former Governor of the South Region, Jules Marcelin Ndjaga narrowly missed the dragnet of the police after he was grilled for many hours. He was called for interrogation at a time that he was preparing to attend a meeting in Yaounde.

All the accused persons are said to have participated in one way or the other in the embezzlement for FCFA 4 billion allocated for the payment of indemnities to the victims of the Kribi Seaport site. It was reported that since 2010, the people of Bongale, Mboro and Lolabe at the seaport area have been crying out against the nonpayment of their indemnities even though money was disbursed from the treasury.

This explains why the President of the Republic ordered the judicial police and Secret Services to carry out investigations on the matter. The police went into action and arrested 25 people. After grilling each and every one of them, they sent 14 suspects for pre-trial detention at Kondengui prison, while 11 suspects were set free.

Besides unveiling cases of embezzlement of public funds, the police uncovered many rackets wherein some officials fraudulently acquired land just to turn around and grab money from government.

The Post learnt that just when the Kribi Deep Seaport Site was identified, many State officials used their relatives and friends to acquire land in the area in anticipation. Many officials from the Regional and Land Tenure are in Kondengui for having issued out fake land certificates in such rackets.

Observers hold that if the police dig deeper, many big heads in Yaounde will roll in the process. It is now common place that wherever a government project is being carried, officials secretly buy land near the sitein order to later make money from indemnities.

Such unscrupulous deals constitute part of what has delayed the construction of many structural projects in the country. The controversy surrounding the payment of indemnities is what delayed work at the site of the Yaounde-Douala dual carriage way construction.

The situation held sway for the Sangmelima-Ouesso trans-border road construction that has been stalled for many years.