Michel Fotso Trial: Accused appeals alleged violations

Counsel for Yves Michel Fotso on July 16, 2015, requested the Special Criminal Court to stay proceedings on the case until the Supreme Court rules on the matter.

Hearing in the first of the two trials at the Yaounde Special Criminal Court, SCC, involving Yves Michel Fotso, former General Manager of the defunct national carrier, Cameroon Airlines, held on Thursday, July 16, 2015.

As Advocate General Jean Claude Taghim was preparing to get a prosecution witness set for Examination-in-Chief, one of the counsel for the former General Manager, Barrister Achet Najnijni, asked for the floor to make some observations.

In his written submission, copies of which were distributed to court officials, the lawyer reminded the court that the matter under consideration was last month appealed at the Supreme Court on the grounds of violations of the rights of the accused according to Article 473 of the Criminal Procedure Code. He recalled that the court last month rejected Fotso’s request to have charges against him dropped since he had already started reimbursing the amount he was accused of embezzling.

Consequently, Barrister Achet argued that while waiting for a specialised unit of the Supreme Court to rule on the appeal within a specific time frame, it was but normal for the SCC to suspend proceedings on the matter.

After consulting briefly with colleagues, the leader of the trial team, Mr. Justice Moukoury Francis, and Mr. Justice Michel Onana and Mr. Justice Nyassa, adjourned the matter to July 29, 2015, at the request of the prosecution. The Advocates General are then expected to respond to the defence’s request.

Yves Michel Fotso is accused of embezzling FCFA 18.9 billion between 2000 and 2002. The suit, filed by Camair’s Liquidation Committee and the State of Cameroon, concerns FCFA 4,051,209,866, FCFA 4,606,130,515, and FCFA 8,934,203,742, all compensation for the famous Boeing 747 ‘Combi’ aircraft as well as FCFA 1,400,000,000, the worth of the wreck of the aircraft.