Testimonies Centre on Forged Signatures in AIDS Fund Case

Timothée Onana Belibi, a stores accountant who once served in the cabinet of former Public Health Minister, Urbain Olanguena Awono, has stated that his signatures on the pay voucher, mosquito bed nets reception report and supply voucher that cautioned the irregular payment of an unexecuted mosquito bed net contract worth FCFA 80 million in 2003, were forged.

Testifying yesterday, April 24, 2013 at the Special Criminal Court on cross examination as a defence witness, Onana Belibi responded to questions by the People of Cameroon's lawyer, Augustin Nguefack, that he was not a member of the reception commission at the Malaria Control Programme, PNLP, where the mosquito bed nets had to be supplied by the company, Vision Sarl and so could not have appended his signature. "How did you proceed to establish that your signatures were forged," queried Barrister Augustin Nguefack. "On the payment voucher, the person who placed my signature did a drawing which has nothing to do with my signature," Onana Belibi answered.

He said he suggested to the examining magistrate for an expert to analyse the signatures to no avail. He also said he had earlier endorsed the voucher for the advance payment accorded to Vision Sarl's Director, Nsoé Mbella, to carry out the supply contract and so Nsoé Mbella could have used the copy of the voucher in his possession to forge his signature. He supported that all mosquito bed net supplies between January 2004 and January 2005 were received and certified by Mrs Mbarga Ambombo. When he was informed of the irregular payment of the Vision Sarl contract on January 14, 2008, he requested the Supreme State Audit mission that presented him an information query to organise a confrontation with all the alleged signatories of the reception report, but failed.

The next defence witness to mount the witness box was the then permanent secretary of PNLP, Dr. Raphael Okala Abodo. During the examination-in-chief led by his lawyer Barrister Ngan Superman, Dr Okala said he never participated in the supposed reception of the Vision Sarl contract because the contract was never executed. To that effect, his lawyer adduced as evidence a service note addressed to the Minister on August 4, 2004 that the Vision Sarl contract had not been executed. The witness then said the Vision Sarl contract reception report dated December 7, 2004 presented several irregularities. He employed the services of a certified graphologist who established that his signature on the Vision Sarl payment files were forgeries. On further questioning by Olanguena Awono, the witness said the Chief Stores Accountant of the Ministry who always checks the effective performance of contracts at the PNLP failed to do so when the Vision Sarl payment voucher entered his office.

The case that was adjourned to this day, Thursday April 25, 2015 pits the Legal Department and the State of Cameroon against former Public Health Minister, Urbain Olanguena Awono and others for the misappropriation of FCFA 287 million meant for the fight against AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.