An article from the The Post, published in Buea, Cameroon, one of the African newspapers that has a distribution agreement with AllAfrica, accused Cameroon's ambassador to the United States of embezzling funds that were intended to renovate the embassy building and ambassador's residence.
In response to the article, AllAfrica was contacted this week by Roger Jantio, managing director of Sterling Merchant Finance Ltd, a merchant bank based in Washington, DC. Contesting the veracity of the article, Mr. Jantio says:
For many of us who have known Ambassador Jerome Mendouga over the years, we are utterly horrified by the character assassination that AllAfrica.com has helped spread throughout the world. The portrait of Ambassador Mendouga in the article could not have been further from the truth, as he is widely recognized by anyone who knows him as a humble man, a fair and ethical person and yet a savvy diplomat. It is my opinion that Ambassador Mendouga is one of the best diplomats Africa has to offer.
The article is blatantly inconsistent and unsubstantiated. It appears that the writer did not attempt to speak to Ambassador Mendouga, as any serious investigating journalist must do.
Indeed, anyone who is familiar with the Washington, DC real estate market will laugh at the statement that 927 million CFA francs - approximately 1.7 million U.S. dollars - is enough to renovate the Cameroon chancellery, which has not had a facelift for decades, and at the same time buy another building of similar standard. Equally unbelievable and disturbing is the assertion that the renovation of an eight-bedroom ambassadorial residence can be accomplished for 2,700 U.S. dollars.
The writer of the article also failed to recognize that financial management, including procurement, accounts payable, and money management at all Cameroon's embassies fall under the responsibility of a financial attaché appointed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on whom the Ambassador has no reporting authority. Finally, there is no trace of an independent audit of Ambassador Mendouga - as alleged in the newspaper - which leads me to reckon that The Post article is a fabricated story aimed at the lynching of a well respected family and God-fearing man.
