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TOPIC: cameroon journalist murder

Geopolitics

In Cameroon, A Journalist's Murder May Trigger The Last Demise Of A 40-Year Regime

The central African nation has been run by the same man, Paul Biya, for decades. But as the 89-year-old fades from public view, high-stakes maneuvering is underway, which may have led to the brutal murder and mutilation of a well-known journalist.

-Analysis-

PARIS — Martinez Zogo was a journalist at Amplitude FM, an independent radio station in Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé — and he became well-known for denouncing corruption. On Jan. 22, Zogo was found dead at the age of 51 — his body was severely mutilated.

From the moment the killing was reported, this central African nation of 27 million has been plunged into fear and a deep, potentially fatal regime crisis.

On Monday, one of Cameroon's most prominent businessmen, Jean-Pierre Amougou-Belinga, was arrested at his home by about 100 security agents, who first had to neutralize his ten or so bodyguards. Amougou-Belinga is suspected of being the mastermind behind the journalist's murder.

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