The trial of John Dangle Kumase, former SDF Mayor of the Douala IV Sub divisional Council in the Littoral Region started at the Yaounde Special Criminal Court on December 2. He will still be appearing at the court on Monday, December 21, as proceedings were adjourned to that day.

Kumase is being tried on a three-count charge.  He is alleged to have embezzled FCFA 9,120,000 being rents local bank BICEC, paid to the Council for using one of its buildings in 2008. He is also accused of pocketing FCFA 32 million from the FCFA 90 million that the Douala City Council disbursed to the Douala IV Council for a clean-up campaign. The third charge is that Kumase embezzled FCFA 90 million being deductions from Council workers’ salaries for the National Social Insurance Fund.

During the December 2 trial, two prosecution witnesses appeared before the court. The current First Deputy Mayor of the Douala IV Sub divisional Council, Simo Tchapga said he did not master anything in the case and said he was merely there to represent the Mayor, Fréderic Koum Amond Elangue.

The second prosecution witness was Mbonge Epie who is now the Secretary General of Nkonjock Council in Nkam Division   and was the Secretary General of the Douala IV Sub divisional Council during the time of Kumase.

The Cameroon Journal  learned that Epie was one of those who raised the alarm on Kumase’s embezzlement scandal.  Reports say that instead of answering questions concerning the embezzlement case, Mbonge Epie accused the former mayor of conniving with the Senior Divisional Officer to suspend him from his post.  Concerning the case, he said the only evidence he had was a correspondence from the Douala City Council.

The Post newspaper in Buea cites the defence counsel Barrister Agbor Ashu as saying that the prosecution witness did not have any evidence against his client. He said the accusation that Kumase embezzled FCFA 90 million of salary deductions of Council workers was completely false.

He alleged that John Dangle Kumase inherited a debt of FCFA 400 million in the council and by the time his term of office ended in 2013, he had paid FCFA 310 million and only FCFA 90 million was still remaining.

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