(JED/IFEX) – Richard Max Bosoh Mpandjo and Luther Ouandie, publication director and journalist, respectively, of the newspaper “L’Indépendent” (“The Independent”), have been ordered to appear in court on 6 May 2004, to respond to charges of “defamation and spreading false information”, brought by Ndo Ndo Jean Rollin Bertrand, director of pharmaceuticals for the Ministry of […]
(JED/IFEX) – Richard Max Bosoh Mpandjo and Luther Ouandie, publication director and journalist, respectively, of the newspaper “L’Indépendent” (“The Independent”), have been ordered to appear in court on 6 May 2004, to respond to charges of “defamation and spreading false information”, brought by Ndo Ndo Jean Rollin Bertrand, director of pharmaceuticals for the Ministry of Public Health.
In a 12 February article written by Ouandie, the newspaper reportedly accused Bertrand of having stolen the remains of a patriarch from a Yaounde morgue on 13 December 2001.
According to the charges, the accusations brought by the paper against Bertrand constitute a serious attack on his reputation. In a response published on 26 April 2004, “L’Indépendent” reiterated its claim that the doctor had “a disturbing role in the disappearance of Alo’o Mve’s body from the Jamot hospital in Yaounde.”
Representatives from several other newspapers, including “Le Front”, “Libération Plus” and “Envoyé spécial”, have also been ordered to appear in court in relation to the case.
