Emmanuel Gerald Ondo Ndong, the former Director-General of the Special Fund for Equipment and Inter-communal Intervention (Feicom), was released on Saturday, February 21, 2026, after a long period of detention. Convicted in a case of embezzlement of public funds estimated at nearly 30 billion FCFA, he was released in a festive atmosphere.
Ondo Ndong had been incarcerated as part of Operation Sparrowhawk (Épervier), a large-scale anti-corruption operation launched in 2006 by the Cameroonian government. This operation aimed to clean up the management of public finances and fight corruption. Several former ministers and heads of public companies have also been arrested and convicted as part of this operation.
After several years in prison, the former Director-General of Feicom stated that he took his detention philosophically. According to him, neither the President of the Republic nor the Cameroonian justice system initiated his incarceration. He believes that his imprisonment was more a matter of divine will. "Whether it is the president or the justice system; they did not initiate my prison sentence, they executed God's decision," he said.
His release coincides with that of Gilles Roger Belinga, former Director-General of the Cameroon Real Estate Corporation (SIC), who was also convicted as part of Operation Sparrowhawk. Both men were arrested in 2006. The release of these two emblematic figures has reignited the debate on the record and impact of Operation Sparrowhawk on the political and administrative scene in Cameroon.
Prior to his release, Emmanuel Gerald Ondo Ndong's movable property had been auctioned off by the Cameroon Debt Recovery Corporation. He was dismissed from his position as Director-General of Feicom on November 11, 2005, and arrested three months later, accused of embezzling more than 36 billion FCFA. His sentence was increased in 2013 by the Supreme Court, bringing his conviction to 30 years in prison.
The release from prison of Ondo Ndong and Belinga raises questions about their social and professional reintegration, as well as the culture of transparency within the Cameroonian public sector. Their release marks the end of an important chapter in Cameroon's judicial history.
