Cameroon’s Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh has just been heard by the Special Criminal Court. A jurisdiction which was created by Law No. 2011/028 of December 14, 2011. The court aims at hearing cases of embezzlement of public funds, where the damage suffered is of a minimum amount of 50,000,000 CFA francs.

According to Kalara newspaper, one of the closest collaborators of the Head of State was heard regarding the embezzlement issue of funds allocated to the fight against Covid-19 in Cameroon. The gazette adds that the judicial police officers proceeded to the hearing of the Minister of State with the authorization of the President of the Republic Paul Biya.

The Covid-19 fund scandal also known as Covidgate has to do with a massive embezzlement of public funds supposed to be used for a response to the pandemic that has been rocking Cameroon since March 2020. In July 2021, the Audit Bench of the Supreme Court, the highest court in matters of control and management of the accounts of the State and local authorities, produced a report on the use of Covid funds.

This report revealed several dysfunctions and financial embezzlement in the management of the 180 billion CFA francs allocated by a decision of the Head of State. The document cited more than twenty ministerial departments including the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Public Health.