Defense
Counsel Says Authorities now view him as threat to Biya regime each time he
publishes a letter.
 |
| Marafa(holding file) and Lawyer (Professor)Kale from a court hearing/AFP |
By Christopher Ambe
Persistent rumors are circulating
especially in Yaoundé and the northern regions of Cameroon, that Government is
planning to move Cameroon's most celebrated prisoner, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, to
the notorious Yoko prison in the Centre Region of Cameroon where former President
Ahmadou Ahidjo used to dump political dissidents.
Marafa, who was said to be a presidential hopeful and former senior minister,
was recently sentenced to a 25-year jail term on embezzlement charges related
to the botched purchase of a presidential jet in 2004. He was sentenced along side Yves Michel Fotso,
former Managing-director of the defunct state air transport company CAMAIR,
which played a crucial role in the jet purchase.
The Mfoundi Court found the two guilty of embezzling 24 billion CFA francs
($47.52m) that was meant for the purchase of the presidential plane. But the
Defense has appealed against the judgement, described by some critics as a
travesty of justice
"I am very disappointed with the judgment but not surprised because
this all has been politicized. But I will file an appeal against my conviction
because I am not guilty," Mr Mafara had told reporters after the judgment.
In fact, Mr.Marafa was Minister of Territorial Administration until
President Paul Biya fired him in a December 2011 cabinet reshuffle and got him
arrested last April 16.
Mr Marafa was widely believed to harbor ambitions to succeed 79-year-old President
Biya.
Should Mr Marafa be moved again from SED where
he is currently serving the prison term, it will confirm what Mr.Marafa's American
–trained lawyer, Professor Ndiva Kofele Kale, has been saying since this affair
erupted, that his client is a prisoner of conscience.
Bombarded with the rumor, The
Recorder contacted Barrister Kale who had just come out from SED to see his
client, for confirmation.
Hear what the Barrister, Professor
Kale said:
"Authorities continue to view
my client as a threat to the regime each time he publishes a letter that
exposes its nasty underbelly. His recent riposte to the fiction concocted by
the so-called anti-corruption agency, CONAC, regarding Marafa's alleged role in
the illegal land speculation in Kribi, which appeared in the Friday, December
15 edition of Mutations must have sent out shock waves."
It would be recalled that Marafa's transfer
from Kondengui Prison where he was on pre-trial detention to the SED lock up
came after persistent rumors.
Political pundits believe that the
new rumors foreshadow another transfer, perhaps banishment is the better word,
of Mr. Marafa to remote Yoko unless Government decides otherwise.
“Because
he a good source to the press about the behind-the -scene dealings
of the Biya Regime, the Government may
likely want to put him in an “ Out of sight, out of mind” position by
contemplating his transfer to the remote and notorious Yoko.
Many people are of the opinion that
the several sensitive and revealing letters about secret dealings by the
Government published by ex-minister Marafa have shaken the foundation of the
Biya régime, which has been battling with corruption now for many years with
little success.
Mr.Biya, who has been in power since 1982, launched
"Operation Sparrow Hawk" in 2006 to combat corruption
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