By Christopher Ambe
Former Prime Minister and Chief of Bakingili, Ephraim Inoni,
and ex- Secretary-general at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon Marafa
Hamidou Yaya, today were arrested and detained in security cells in Yaoundé.The two,formerly believed to be untouchables, are implicated in shady financial transactions in the purchase in 2003 of a faulty presidential
plane, named Albatross, for Cameroon.
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| Marafa Hamidou Yaya |
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| Chief Ephraim Inoni |
The plane developed a technical fault at its inaugural
flight in 2004 and almost crashed with the presidential couple, Biya and
Chantal on board.
Upon investigations, it emerged that it was instead a
second-hand plane that was bought as those in charge of the purchase allegedly
embezzled a good chunk of the huge amount the State of Cameroon had disbursed
for the purchase of a new plane.
Chief Inoni was then assistant Secretary-General at the
Presidency while Marafa Hamidou Yaya was the Secretary-General.
Both, who are now in pre-trial detention, were said to be
actors in the purchase transaction. Atangana Mebera, who succeeded Marafa as
Secretary-General had since 2008 been in pre-trial detention still in
connection with the Albatross affair.
The arrests are within the frame work of President Paul
Biya’s on-going war against corruption and embezzlement of public funds. Biya‘s
war against embezzlement is dubbed Operation Sparrow hawk, has sent several senior
officials of the Biya regime in prison.
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