A month-long broadcast ban

The CNC has barred Vision 4 from airing any audiovisual programs for a full month. The regulator accuses the station’s management of challenging its authority and failing to respond to a summons. This is not the first time Vision 4 has faced sanctions: in June, it was penalized along with journalist Martial Thaddée Owona and director Philippe Boni Menyene following a report that the CNC said contained remarks undermining the dignity of a lawyer representing the civil parties. The regulator claims that the earlier sanction was barely enforced and that the station has since broadcast new content targeting the same lawyer.

Amougou Belinga’s media group also hit

In a parallel move, the CNC suspended Jean-Claude Fouda Abega, publication director of the daily newspaper L’Anecdote, for one month. L’Anecdote is another outlet owned by Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga’s group. The newspaper had published an article that the regulator described as containing unfounded, insulting, and offensive remarks against the same lawyer.

Trial continues amid sanctions

These suspensions come as the trial of Martinez Zogo proceeds before the military court in Yaoundé. The radio host was abducted on January 17, 2023, near a gendarmerie post in the capital. His naked and mutilated body was found five days later. Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga faces charges of complicity in kidnapping, torture, and assassination. He is appearing alongside Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, former director of the General Directorate for External Research (DGRE), and Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe, accused of leading the commando unit involved in the journalist’s abduction.