Special Criminal Court: Abah Abah Gets Another Sentence

He was on November 3, 2016, jailed for 20 years after being found guilty of embezzling 1.1 billion FCFA between 1998 and 2005.

The former Director of Taxation and Minister of Finance, Polycarpe Abah Abah, was yesterday, November 3, 2016, slammed a 20-year jail sentence by the Yaounde-based Special Criminal Court, SCC, for embezzling 1,158,352,393 FCFA. The offence was committed between 1998 and 2005 when he was Director of Taxation, before becoming Minister of Finance. The matter was brought to court by William Peter Mandio, a former journalist and now Member of Parliament, and Batock Dikanda.

Reading out the sentence, Mr. Justice Nyoh Matthias, assisted by two other Justices and Mr. Justice Jean Claude Taghim as Advocate General, said the money was Value Added Tax, VAT payment to beneficiaries. Instead, it was transferred to Abah Abah’s personal account in Cameroon Commercial Bank, CBC Bank. The court ordered him to pay back the embezzled amount, saying the sentence was informed by his good conduct during the trial.

Earlier, the court acquitted Abah Abah on four other counts of embezzling smaller amounts. Advocate General Taghim asked for a life sentence for the accused, while Counsel for the Ministry of Finance, Barrister Nchankou Njindam, asked that the embezzled amount be repaid. Reacting to the sentencing, Counsel for Polycarpe Abah Abah, Barristers Antoine Marcel Mong and Nko’o Marion, expressed shock. They refused ...