Cameroon's Supreme Court removed the cassation appeal of former defence minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o from its hearing schedule on 21 October 2026, the day the case was due to be argued, so that judges can re-examine the file. No new date has been set.
Mebe Ngo'o, who was minister of defence from 2009 to 2015 and later minister of transport until 2018, is contesting a 30-year prison sentence handed down on 31 January 2023 by the Special Criminal Court. The court convicted him of misappropriating nearly 23 billion XAF in public funds tied to military equipment contracts, along with other financial offences. His wife, Bernadette Mebe Ngo'o, was sentenced to 10 years in the same case.
His lawyers argue the procedure was irregular and are seeking annulment of the conviction. A cassation appeal is not a retrial: the Supreme Court reviews whether the law was correctly applied and can either reject the appeal or quash the ruling.
The removal of the case leaves the 2023 conviction in place while the appeal is pending, and the court has not said when the re-examination will be scheduled.
Sources
- Richard Onanena/RFI Cameroun: la Cour suprême décide de déprogrammer l'affaire Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o pour réexamen
- Actu Cameroun Justice : nouveau rebondissement dans l'affaire Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o à la Cour suprême !
- Le Bled Parle Affaire Mebe Ngo'o : la Cour suprême reporte l'examen du pourvoi contre sa condamnation à 30 ans de prison