Sodecoton Case: The legal ping-pong

The challenge to the constitution of the State has not advanced the procedure last Wednesday at TCS.

The Court session that took four hours, thirty minutes, saw the plaintiff and the defense not being able to agree once again on the objections raised at the last hearing and contestation of the State of Cameroon as a civil party.

This was last Wednesday at the Special Criminal Court (TCS) at the fifth hearing of the prosecution case and State of Cameroon (Sodecoton) against Iya Mohammed, former CEO of Sodecoton.

The case in which also continued Henri Clavier, deputy general manager of the undertaking, Jerome Minlend, CEO of Cameroon audit consultancy (CAC), Lucien Fotso, accountant, Pierre Kaptene, Executive Assistant to the Sodecoton Mahamat Karagama, Director Sales and Christophe Mbaiougam, another senior official of the company for misappropriation of an overall estimated FCFA 11,293 B.

At this hearing where all the accused were present and their legal advicers except Christophe Mbaiougam, analyses of objections raised by the defense, the Advocate General, Jean Pierre Bikong Mafok noted that the requests of Charles Tchoungang, Board of Jerome Minlend on both orders for reference for the withdrawal of charges against him are without foundation.

Concerning the inadmissibility of the constitution of the civil part of the State of Cameroon, the Minister of Public argued that at this stage of the procedure, we can not know who the victim is or who is not. And therefore, this exception is premature. "The Minister does not go very fast. He will be in his time to make submissions to the end and attach these exceptions. The State of Cameroon considers to be one of the victims may speak to defend its interests," he explained.

Review undermined by Me Eugene Balemaken, Iya Mohammed board that has maintained its position on what he called procedural issue because it does not obey the legal regime. On the side of civil party lawyers of the State of Cameroon, the barrister Mr. Francis Sama, assisted by André Marie Awono have asked the court to "sweep the exceptions of a backhand and retain only the facts of the case dropoff window. "This is because the proceedings initiated by the prosecution does not argue. It is not because the state is a shareholder he can not be a civil party," blurted André Marie Owono.

And Mr. Jackson Ngnie Kamga, Henri Clavier Council, to insist on the fact that he grasped the way to an action for annulment because "Sodecoton is a commercial company and can not claim a person subjected to misappropriation of public funds," he insisted. Given this legal ping-pong, the hearing was adjourned.

It will resume on December 4 to decide the objections raised to allow the court to decide.