The last but one hearing took place on September 23, 2013 at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde.
The fate of François Xavier Sandji in the case pitting him against the State of Cameroon and the Yaounde General Hospital will soon be known. The sixth hearing took place yesterday September 23, 2013 at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde. The session before a panel of judges led by Mrs Justice Yvette Siewe focused on the presentations of submissions by the prosecution and advocacy by the defence.
In his presentation, Advocate General, Didier Edjisna, said the embezzlement case against François Sandji was sent to the Special Criminal Court on September 28, 2008. On August 26, 2008 the Yaounde General Hospital filed a complaint against the company Speedi Multiservices headed by François Sandji for the embezzlement of kitchen equipment worth over FCFA 77 million. The equipment was used following an agreement of August 12, 2002 linking the company Speedi Multiservices to the Yaounde General Hospital.
The objective was to use the equipment to supply food to patients. He said all went well at the beginning but following an audit by the accounts department, it was noticed that some of the kitchen equipment belonging to the Yaounde General Hospital were missing. It happened that François Sandji was equally in charge of the kitchen of the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC) which has two campuses in Ekounou and Nkolbisson, respectively. From the findings, it was noticed that some of the hospital's equipments were found in the two campuses. Against the accusation, François Sandji had refuted having signed any protocol agreement with the Yaounde General Hospital.
The counsel for the civil claimant, Barrister Njapndouke Kentouma, said there are documents which showed that François Sandji signed protocol agreement with the hospital. Barrister Ndjapndouke Kentouma said François Sandji was taking equipment of the hospital kitchen to the Catholic University of Central Africa without authorisation from the authorities. She said it was because François Sandji had intentions of embezzling the hospital equipment.
Defence lawyer, Barrister Abel Longa said the when François Sandji took over the kitchen the hospital did not present to him a total inventory of the equipment. Concerning the stolen equipment, Barrister Longa argued that the head of the security department said in court that he caught kitchen equipment that was taken out of the hospital neither by Sandji nor his staff but by other people and that he gave the equipment to the general manager.
He further said that during the inventory it was Sandji who told the team that there was equipment at the campus of Ekounou and Nkolbisson because of good faith. He said the board meeting had a report of the inventory and that nowhere in the report is it mentioned that François Sandji had stolen equipment of the hospital. He said that is why the first resolution of the General Hospital's board of directors' meeting states that François Sandji's contract be cancelled and secondly, that the general manager of the hospital should pay FCFA 78 million owed to François Sandji, in instalments. The case was adjourned to October 4, 2013 for final judgement.
