The Maersk group is a co-owner of SPM — Société des Plantations de Mbanga — the company, which together with the Ministry of Finance, Cameroon, accused Lapiro de Mbanga of being the mastermind behind riots in 2008 that led to severe damages at a banana plantation owned by SPM.

International observers believe that the government wished to “shut him up” because of his song ‘Constipated Constitution’ which warns president Biya of the dangers of the constitutional amendments.

The articles published in Denmark document the SPM involvement, but the Mærsk group in a statement from its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark denies any knowledge and involvement in the case.

Rene Manfo, the lawyer representing Lapiro de Mbanga says that “SPM and Maersk carry a great responsibility for the imprisonment of Lapiro” to the point where the lawyer says it “violates human rights and violation of free speech”.

One of the most respected journalists in Cameroon, Pius Njawe, Editor of the independent Le Messager adds: “It is clearly a political conviction. Without help from SPM the government would have had a hard time blaming Lapiro”, says Njawe to the Danish journalist, Peter Rasmussen, investigating the link between Mærsk and the case against the popular singer.

A moral obligation
Freemuse believes that if SPM has withdrawn the case against Lapiro de Mbanga, Maersk has ”a moral obligation to make this very clear to the government of Cameroon”.

In a statement Amnesty International adds:

“Mærsk should require SPM to contact the authorities in Cameroon with reference that Lapiro de Mbanga is guaranteed a trial by international standards and if found innocent he is immediately released.”

Lapiro de Mbanga (real name: Pierre Roger Lambo Sandjo) has been imprisoned since April 2008 and is serving a three-year sentence for alleged complicity in anti-government riots.

There are concerns that Mbanga's trial was unfair. The songwriter was reportedly convicted on the grounds that his presence during the protests, as a local leader, had galvanised the rioters. It was further argued that he would not have been allowed to film the events, as he did, had he been an outsider. This therefore made him an accomplice. However, according to local press reports, the riots were widely televised and none of the journalists who filmed the footage have been brought to trial.

Moreover, Mbanga's sentence is twice that received by the actual leaders of the riots, who were handed 18-month prison terms the month after the riots and were subsequently pardoned. The government has denied that the case is politically motivated.

Freemuse, International PEN, Freedom Now and Amnesty International have expressed the concern about the case.

Documentation
Officially stamped transcripts from the court case against Lapiro show that SPM from the beginning was involved in the case against Lapiro de Mbanga.