Cameroon Crisis: The dilemma of activists in the Diaspora

 By Tang Awambeng  

Rights advocate Terence Akukulong 

Terence Akukulong Njah Mbatalom is not the only child of his father; but he seems to be the favorite son of his father, Mbatalom Michael Akukulong, an unsung Cameroonian human rights advocate.

Although a civil servant, Mr. Mbatalom found time to strongly advocate the promotion of human rights and social justice as the minority English Speakers (Anglophones) have, for decades, complained of marginalization by the majority Francophone led-government.

 Mr. Mbatalom taught his son Terence Akukulong democratic values, hoping that the latter would continue in his footsteps in the quest for social justice in Cameroon, as the former at the time was critically sick and hospitalized.

But considered as a sharp critic of the government, Mr. Mbatalom repeatedly ran into problems with state security forces.

According to reports, he was reportedly detained on at two occasions, when it was established that he was an adherent of Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), a pressure group advocating the independence of British Southern Cameroons (today’s two English-speaking regions of Cameroon).

 The Cameroon government on January 17, 2017 slammed a ban on the SCNC and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), which group Mr. Mbatalom also reportedly supported.

 Both pressure groups were identified as prime instigators of the Anglophone crisis, which erupted in 2016 and is escalating.

The January 17, 2017 banning order, signed by then Minister of Territorial Administration, Rene Sadi stated:

” These groups Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) are declared null and void for their purpose and activites,which are contrary to the Constitution and liable to jeopardize the security of the state, territorial integrity, national unity and national integration”.

The president of the CACSC Human Rights, Lawyer Felix Agbor Nkongho and his secretary Dr.Neba Fontem, were arrested and jailed immediately after the ban of the groups, an act that further radicalized those pressing for the independence of Anglophones.

As the saying goes “Like father,like son.” Terence Akukulong developed strong love for rights promotion and humanitarian work just as his father did. Terence founded in Cameroon an NGO named “One Humanity Charity Organization”, which helped underprivileged children (street children and orphans) by providing them with shelter, food and other necessities.

One Humanity Charity organization became popular especially as it also educated children on human rights and partnered with other NGO’s to offer assistance to the needy children.

He would later go for further studies in Canada with the intention of returning home to continue his contributions to nation-building and a just society.

But while in abroad things turned sour as the Anglophone crisis turned violent, and has  led to the death of thousands of citizens as government forces and armed separatists engage in bloody confrontations.

Cameroon government has regularly accused Anglophone activists and separatist leaders in the Diaspora of sponsoring civil disobedience (ghost towns) and armed conflicts in the Northwest and Southwest regions and promised to prosecute perpetrators. With this government threat, many Cameroonians abroad are scared to come back home especially as allegations are rife that some of them returning home have been arrested and whisked away by security agents.

Many in this dilemma abroad are said to be applying for asylum, for fear of arrest and prosecution if they return to Cameroon.

Such may be the case with Terence Akukulong Njah Mbatalom. A close friend of his told this writer that, Terence is not only worried but traumatized by reports that his family back home has been a subject to frequent visits  by men in mufti, believed to be security agents, a situation which has  pushed  some of his  relations to be living in hiding.

Because of this fear of being tagged as a disguised sponsor or instigator of the crisis, many Cameroonians in the Europe, the USA and elsewhere have not bothered to attend even the funerals of their loved ones in Cameroon.

The crisis has caused the internal displacement of over 500 thousand people and registered a death toll of over 3000, according to rights groups. More than 40 thousand Cameroonians are seeking refugee status in neighboring Nigeria;reports say more than 250 houses and villages have been burnt down and  property destroyed is estimated in billions of Fcfa.

In May 2018, the US Ambassador to Cameroon, Peter Henry Barlerin,  in a press statement on the Anglophone crisis, accused the Government of ”targeted killings, detentions without access to legal support, family or the Red Cross and burning and looting of villages”

Ambassador Barlerin also blamed separatist fighters for “murders of gendarmes, kidnappings of government officials and burning of schools”

 When the crisis will come to an end remains uncertain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayor David Mafani’s Three Months in Office Foretell Bright Future for Buea

By Christopher Ambe 

Today,Monday May 18, marks 91 days (three months) since Barrister David Mafani Namange was elected Mayor of Buea, to begin five-year tenure as Mayor of Buea, capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. 

He was elected on February 18, 2020 after the CPDM won the February 9 municipal election in Buea. But he formally/ technically took over from Interim Mayor John Efande,on February 28.  And last March 19, the new mayor- as a civil status registrar, was sworn-in at the Buea Court of First Instance.

The PhD law student of University of Buea and former Southwest Regional Manager of the bank, Credit Foncier, assumed Buea mayorship at a very difficult time, as the Council was facing several crises, provoked by the Anglophone Crisis. In fact, when Barrister Mafani became mayor, the coffers of the Council were empty and workers had gone for months without salaries; the council owed CPNS social contributions; Buea faced(and is still) facing water crisis; the Council was over-crowded with ineffective and ghost workers ,just to name a few.

These many problems were enough to demoralize anyone who was seeking the mayorship of Buea just to play to the gallery.

 But Barrister Mafani was no stranger to the problems of the council. He was (and is still) Fako III (Buea) CPDM Section President, before gunning for Buea mayorship; thus, as a local political leader he had knowledge of the problems were plaguing  the CPDM-run Buea council under late Mayor Ekema Patrick begging for solutions.

Indeed, friends of Barrister Mafani told this reporter that he knew the “messy and chaotic” situation he was going to face as mayor, and had developed a mindset for success, to face the challenges squarely, for the interest of the Buea public.

As an experienced ex-manager of bank /local party leader, Barrister Mafani’s determination to achieve his socio-economic blueprint for Buea ,pundits say, is rooted in  the Biblical caution that “If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed” (Proverbs 24:10).

Soft-spoken and quiet-looking, Mafani is generally described as

 an attentive man of action, who would like his developmental actions to speak louder than his words.

As one Buea Council insider put it, “Mayor Mafani is not the noise-making or publicity-seeking type. He is cautious and methodical in the way he does his things.”

         

 Having been in office now for 91 days, what are some major achievements of Mayor Mafani so far?

                               MAJOR  ACHIEVEMENTS

    Fight against COVID-19

 Mayor  Mafani supplies water tanks,soap and sanitizers to the public against COVID-19

 The active involvement of Buea Council in the fight against the Corona virus/Covid-19 shows the concern of a mayor who understands that health is wealth. Mayor Mafani, who is also member of the Southwest Regional Commission on COVID-19, has regularly deployed council personnel to the streets and neighborhoods of Buea to sensitize the public on the dreaded corona virus and help enforce WHO/Government-recommended anti-COVID-19 measures. For weeks now the Council’s Communication caravan has been trumpeting COVID-19 preventive and safety messages: such as: Wash your hands regularly with soap and running water; wear  a face mask if you must leave your home; all business owners must have sanitizers in front of their shops. 

The Mayor has also embarked on mass/social media sensitization of Buea denizens on the pandemic. In the same light, the mayor has decongested markets in the municipality and created a food market near OIC Buea.

The Council has placed at strategic positions in Buea containers of water,soap and  hand sanitizers; donated thousands of face masks to   Buea  Prisons, orphanages, the disarmament center at Borstal Institute Buea and to the  general  public( via  chiefs and quarter heads).

Enforcing Town Planning Regulations & Curbing Urban Disorder

During his short period in office, the mayor has embarked on stopping irregular construction and urban disorder in Buea. 

Mayor Mafani (hand raised) enforcing town planning regulations in Buea

“Those who bring urban disorder in Buea, should know that it is over,” the mayor told reporters when he launched the demolition of irregularly constructed buildings recently.

 “I was born in Buea, educated in Buea,I have worked in Buea,I live in Buea and now Mayor of Buea. Nothing will stop me from doing what is right and lawful to make Buea a beautiful town. Anybody who thinks he will flaunt building regulations is going to face us in the next five years.”

Buildings constructed on market footpaths  have  be demolished ;  business  premises  especially restaurants  without  toilets are forced to have such; buildings constructed on water ways  have been demolished after  owners of such buildings were warned .

 In the same vein, all structures put up by encroachers in the Buea Forest Reserve (Buea Fuel Plantation) have been marked for demolition. 

In his efforts to stop flooding in Buea, the mayor has traced back all water ways in the town and unblocked gutters and culverts; houses built on ravines and water ways marked for demolition.

Assistance to Vulnerable People

 Buea Council, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, distributed a grant of 4.5 million FCFA to 33 vulnerable persons in the municipality, in order to improve their lot.

Improvement of roads 

The mayor has already signed partnership agreements between the Buea Council and the South West Regional delegation of Urban Development for the improvement of roads in the council area such as the GTHS Molyko-Ndongo-Malingo stretch of road, the NFC Bank-Molyko Health Center stretch of road and the Bokwaongo Junction-Likoko and Kawa street stretch of road.

 Water crisis in Buea

  For years now Buea has been hit by water crisis, but the mayor has promised to alleviate the situation by establishing boreholes in some neighborhoods soon.

 Staff census and payment of salary arrears

The mayor recently carried out a census of council workers to sort out absentee and ghost workers, who were draining the council coffers, in an effort to ensure efficiency and duty-consciousness.

 The mayor only recently brought happiness to his workers by paying three of the four-month salary arrears he inherited. He also regularized the situation of several workers who during the tenure of late Mayor Ekema Patrick went for several years without salaries despite their protests.

 Ban on circulation of Motor bikes maintained 

The circulation of commercial motor bikes had been banned by Mayor Mafani’s predecessor who claimed they were facilitating the transportation of separatist fighters. But when Mafani became mayor the motor bike riders thought the ban was now lifted and started circulating within the municipality, but the mayor rather upheld the ban. 

Mayor Mafani is optimistic that, everything being equal and with the collaboration and support of the Government, local authorities and Buea denizens, the municipality will witness more socio-economic improvements and infrastructural development ,as well as  peaceful cohabitation.

Many watchers of Buea Council think that Mayor Mafani has started his tenure well,and will likely end well-everything being equal.

Mayor Mafani is assisted  in his task of enhancing development in Buea by : Mrs. Molinge Enjema Minerva, as 1st Deputy Mayor;Mr Edward Mosoke,as 2nd  Deputy Mayor;Chief Motove Marcus, as 3rd  Deputy Mayor  and Mrs. Vevanje Enjema Magdaline,as  4th Deputy Mayor.

(With contributions from Buea Council Communication Unit)

Cameroon:MOHWA Embarks on Anti-COVID-19 Sensitization in Buea

MOHWA Buea in family picture after anti-COVID-19 sensitization

By Christopher Ambe

The Buea chapter of Manyu Women’s Association, better known by its acronym MOHWA, on Thursday, May 7, embarked on an anti-corona virus/COVID-19 sensitization of its members and the public,using practical demonstrations.

The event took place at the premises of former Alliance Franco-Camerounaise ,Buea,presided  at by Mrs. Ogork Kate, President of MOHWA ,Buea Chapter.

 MOHWA Buea  did not only  sensitize members on the  corona virus, but also urged them to help educate others on preventive and safety measures against the virus ,which  the Cameroon government has adopted.

The virus has already killed more than 100 people out of the over 2000 infection cases  Cameroon  has registered.

The women’s group used the various local languages in Manyu Division ,as well as the English  during the sensitization  to deliver their messages. 

MOHWA, noted as one of the leading socio-cultural associations in Cameroon, promotes not only Manyu cultural values, development and unity, but also healthy living.

Mrs. Ogork Kate said MOHWA was motivated  to launch the anti-COVID-19 campaign by the fact that, there were  lots of people who knew little or nothing about the corona virus.

"MOHWA Buea decided to help break down the information so those who are non-literate but understand Manyu local languages will be able to understand what the corona virus is all about”, she said. “We also realized that a lot of focus was on adults and so we brought in our children-children whom we have been grooming thus far for them to be able to speak to their age groups. If feel that if children watch over children and tell them about the virus, the fight against will be more effective.”

The group reiterated that COVID-19 is real and recommended to all safety measures such as   hand-washing, social distancing, mask-wearing  and stay-at-home. 

 “Consider everybody as a potential carrier and keep your distance from them to stay safe,” one of sensitizers cautioned the public

Speaking to the press, MOHWA  Buea President said: “ Our priority was   sensitization; but we decided to visit an orphanage in Mamfe not only to  sensitize the orphans there but also to give them items  that can fight corona virus such as sanitizers, face masks and wash-hand stations; conscious  that  there is hunger as well (because the children are all at home and they eat more than expected), we equally gave them food items; we are hoping that when these orphans eat they will be able to stay home and not go out-and the virus will be contained.”

The ceremony ended with singing and dancing as the women respected some of the anti-corona virus measures such as social distancing facemask-wearing and no gathering of more than 50 people.

Emanga Foundation, CEYOFE assist COVID-19-affected Families, Orphanages in Buea

Some Buea Beneficiaries of Emanga Foundation of Hope -CEYOFE  assistance

By Christopher Ambe

The dreaded Corona virus/COVID-19 has brought hardship and poverty to the homes of Cameroonians, especially as some of their freedoms have been restricted as preventive/ safety measures against contracting the virus, which has killed over 100 people in Cameroon out of more 2000 cases registered.

But very low-income families are far more hit by these corona virus safety restrictions, which have brought their small businesses to a near standstill, thus begging for assistance from humanitarian NGO’s associations and the government.

In sympathy with affected people, the Center for Youth and Family Empowerment (CEYOFE), a Buea-NGO and Emanga Foundation of Hope, of Germany, working in partnership, last Tuesday May 5, in Buea, came to the assistance of fifteen (15) COVID-19 families and two Buea orphanages, by donating to them, items which included but not limited to: bags of rice, packs of magi, cartons of soap, groundnut oil, as well as some small financial assistance.

Speaking at the donation ceremony, which took place at the Southwest Delegation of Women Empowerment and the Family, Mrs. Eteki Stella Dogima, founder/CEO  of  the Center for  Youth and Family Empowerment ,said “Today is celebrated  globally as “Giving Tuesday”-that is every May 5, when people  decide to share love  with others in different ways”

She said CEYOFE in partnership with Emanga Foundation of Hope, thus took advantage of “Giving Tuesday” to donate foodstuff and other items to 15 families and two orphanages in Buea, after screening through a data base of needy people of the SW Delegation of Women Empowerment and the Family.

“We want to share love and also extend a hand of fellowship and solidarity to these families that have been seriously affected by COVID-19. We understand the situation you have been going as a result of the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.”,Mrs. Eteki said. “People used to do their small business but because of Corona virus /COVID-19, they cannot go out to freely carry out such businesses. This has brought poverty and hardship to lots of people/families.”

 She noted, “We need to share love among ourselves in times of difficulties. This is a moment people need to share together the little they have”

Mrs. Eteki thanked Cameroonian–born but Germany-based Mrs.Baron Honorine, founder of Emanga Foundation of Hope for raising funds to make the donation a reality. Mrs. Baron is said to have created the GoFundMe  platform when she realized that many people wanted to offer their assistance to the needy but mistakenly thought what they had was small. 

 " When it comes to giving ,nothing is small. We all know the story of the widow's might. What is important is to give out  of love", Mrs. Baron Honorine  reportedly said.

Although, Mrs.,Baron Honorine, founder of Emanga Foundation of Hope ,was not physically present, she was represented by Mr.Philip Mbolem, who said  she  was appreciative of friends of the foundation who contributed  via GofundMe to the realization of the funds, used for assisting the 15 families and two orphanages.

The beneficiaries were thankful to the donors and above all, sang to glorify God.

The beneficiaries were advised to continue to respect safety measures put in place by the Cameroon government to fight against the corona virus/COVID-19, which globally has registered over 2.4million cases of infection with more than 280 thousand deaths.

Barrister Agbor Nkongho To Sue University of Buea over Termination of His Teaching Contract

By Christopher Ambe 

The University of Buea(UB)  on Wednesday ,May 6 terminated the teaching contract of noted human rights campaigner,Barrister Felix  Agbor Nkongho ,who was an  instructor in the Faculty of Laws and Political Science of  the institution since 2015.

But  Agbor Nkongho,considered  as  a spirited fighter, appears to be bent  on  engaging the University of Buea in a legal battle, in the days ahead  ,over what has been described as “wrongful termination of contract.”

“The contract of Mr. Felix Agbor Nkongho,recruited as an instructor in the Department of English Law through Decision N0. 2015/0514/UB/AcA/TTSD/TSS of 02 June 2015 is hereby terminated with immediate effect,” read part of the termination letter ,signed by the Vice-Chancellor of UB,Professor Ngomo Horace Manga. He noted that his termination was,among other considerations, motivated by the unanimous verdict of members of the Disciplinary Council,which Agbor Nkongho boycotted.

After receiving the letter  of termination of contract yesterday afternoon,Agbor Nkongho told this reporter that he was already discussing with  his lawyers the possibility of dragging UB to court.

“We shall end in the court. I prefer that [the university] should also win me there…I am already discussing it with my lawyers”, he said confidently, and would not comment further. 

Agbor Nkongho has been ejected from the Unversity  for setting an examination question on the Anglophone  Crisis,on  a course(Law 243) he was teaching  titled “ Political  and Constitutional History of Cameroon.”  He was teaching in the Department of English Law.

He had been summoned to appear  on Wednesday May 6   before  the Disciplinary Council of the University of Buea  for a hearing on allegations leveled against  him “for non-compliance of professional obligations for a question  you set on law 243,titled Political & Constitutional History of Cameroon,during the  2019/2020first semester examination”, but  he boycotted the sitting and instead sent a  protest letter to the University justifying  his decision not to honour the summons in person.

In his reply to the summons, Agbor Nkongho stated that  legal provisions in force for inviting a teacher before the Disciplinary Council were not respected.

“An invitation for a teacher to appear before a disciplinary panel must be preceded by  the respect of certain statutory provisions. There are a set of decrees and ministerial circulars  entrenched to govern and regulate disciplinary proceedings involving university teachers”,wrote the  lawyer/instructor in his protest letter,citing the  legal provisions to buttress his point.

But speaking  anonymously  to this reporter ,one of the most senior officials at the University of Buea, said: “Mr Agbor’s [arguments] are null and void. Those provisions he cites  do not apply  to him. They appy to lecturers.But he is an instructor whose contract expired in 2019.”

Questioned why  the instructor was still working in the university if his contract had actually ended, the source retorted, “The University was just too kind and polite to invite him to the disciplinary council. Agbor Balla’s contract as  instructor expired in 2019.It has not been renewed and shall not be renewed !”

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Buea, Professor Horace  Manga terminated Agbor Nkongho’s contract, following pressure mounted on him by the Minister of State for Higher Education,Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, to check the instructor’s alleged unprofessional activities on campus. 

Following is  the controversial exam question  that led to  Agbor Nkongho’s contract termination: “The Anglophone crisis since 2016 was caused by lawyers’ and teachers’ strikes.Assess the validity of this statement.(4O marks).

 The  said course exam was successfully written and evaluated-and students validated it; but it  is unclear whether the UB administration will cancel the  course exam  and another exam set, now that the instructor has been sent away.

The exam question on Anglophone crisis  pushed authorities  to think that  Agbor Nkongho , might have been radicalizing  the  the students he was teaching. 

But he has  maintained  that before the  summons ,which led to the termination of his contract,he had never been queried by any official of the institution.

“I have never been accused by the University authorties of politicizing my lectures or any activity there “, he said.

It would be recalled that Barrister Agbor Nkongho  was  President of  Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium(CACSC),which coordinated civil disobedience  and peaceful anti-government protests in 2016 and early 2017 as a way of forcing the Cameoon government grant and protect the rights of minority English-speaking Cameroonians,who have complained of gross marginalization for decades. 

 The 2016 anti-government protests morphed into what is today known as  that the Anglohpne crisis.

Barrister Agbor Nkongho Boycotts UB Disciplinary Council, Citing Procedural Flaws

By Christopher Ambe 

Celebrated human rights advocate, instructor in the Faculty of Laws and Political Science of the University of Buea, Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho, who was scheduled  to be tried yesterday  Wednesday May 6  by  the Disciplinary Council of the University of Buea  for allegations leveled against  him “for non-compliance of professional obligations for a question  you set on law 243,titled Political & Constitutional History of Cameroon, during the  2019/2020first semester examination", boycotted the sitting.

 But he rather served(via a bailiff) the University administration a protest letter, justifying  his decision not to honor the summons in person.

In his reply to the summons served him  to appear before the Disciplinary Council ,Barrister Agbor Nkongho said it violated legal provisions in force for inviting a teacher to the said council.

” An invitation for a teacher to appear before a disciplinary panel must be preceded by  the respect of certain statutory provisions. There are a set of Decrees and Ministerial Circulars  entrench to govern and regulate disciplinary proceedings involving university teachers", wrote the  lawyer/instructor in his protest letter. 

But one of the most senior officials of the University of Buea,who spoke on condition of anonymity, told this reporter: “Mr Agbor’s [arguments] are null and void. Those provisions he cites  do not apply  to him. They apply to lecturers. But he is an instructor whose contract expired in 2019.”

Questioned why Barrister still remains part of the university and is addressed as a staff, the source retorted, “The University was just to kind and polite to invite him to the disciplinary council. Agbor Balla’s contract as  instructor expired in 2019.It has not been renewed and shall not be renewed !”

 The Dean of the Faculty of Law & Political Science (FLPS), Professor Atangcho Nji Akononoumbo ,in a summons  dated 29 April 2020 and served Barrister Agbor on Tuesday May 5  had asked Barrister Agbor Nkongho to appear before the Disciplinary  Council on Wednesday 6 May at 10:00AM.

Professor Atangcho Nji Akononoumbo who signed the summons, titled “Letter of Invitation to a Disciplinary Hearing”, stated in it that he was  acting on the instruction of the Vice-Chancellor of University of University(UB), Professor Horace  Manga.

Pundits  were quick to note that  the Vice-Chancellor Horace Manga must have asked for Barrister Agbor  Nkongho’s  trial now, following mounting pressure from the Minister of State for Higher Education, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo,who is also Chancellor of Cameroon’s varsities that, the lawyer/instructor’s alleged unprofessional activities on campus be stopped forthwith. 

Although the minister’s  second letter, dated April 20,2020, to the Vice-Chancellor  calling for the ejection of Barrister Agbor Nkongho from the University did not mention the violation perpetrated by him,the summons makes it abundantly clear,  that he set an examination question on the Anglophone crisis, in which he had played a coordinating role when it erupted in 2016 and is yet to end.

The controversial exam question on the course  “Political & Constitutional History of Cameroon (course code:Law 243), read : “The Anglophone crisis since 2016 was caused by lawyers’ and teachers’ strikes.Assess the validity of this statement.(4O marks).

 According to reliable Unversity sources, the course exam was successfully written and evaluated-and students validated it.

It is unclear whether the UB administration will cancel the  course exam  and another exam set, since authorities  think that the exam question was “subversive” and the instructor  is supposed to be tried.

It would be recalled that in September 2019, the  Vice-Chancellor of University of Buea(UB), chaired the launching, on campus, of a new book titled “ Anglophone Lawyers and Teachers strikes (2016 -2017):A Multidimensional Perspective”  co-edited by Emeritus Professor of Literature , Kashim Ibrahim Tala (retired from the University of Buea,UB) and Dr. Kingsly L.Ngange,head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Buea.

 At the book launch, the Vice-Chancellor of University of Buea  described the new  publication  as “very topical and relevant” to the  Anglophone Crisis and bought copies for institution. Students were also urged to get copies of the timely publication.

Barrister Agbor Nkongho , who has taught in the University of Buea since 2015, had told this reporter that his   teaching contract is supposed to end in 2021,adding that “”I have never been accused by the University authorities of politicizing my lectures or any activity there as a lecturer [before].”

It would be recalled that Barrister Nkongho  was  President of  Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium(CACSC),which coordinated civil disobedience  and peaceful anti-government protests in 2016 and early 2017 as a way of forcing the Cameroon government grant and protect the rights of minority English-speaking Cameroonians, who have complained of gross marginalization for decades. 

 In a desperate effort to quell the wide-spread protests, the Government banned CACSC on January 17,2017,arrested Barrister  Nkongho same day and jailed him in Yaounde for eight months as the Anglophone Crisis escalated. 

The rights campaigner  was  charged, among others, for promoting terrorism, a crime that is punished, maximally, with death.

But the Anglophone community rather hailed him and described him as their Nelson Mandela.

International and national pressure  mounted on the Biya government to release Barrister Nkongho.

 It was on August 30, 2017 that President Biya ordered, through the Secretary-General at the Presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, “ the discontinuance of proceedings  pending  before the Yaounde Military Court against Messrs  Nkongho  Felix Agbor,Fontem Aforteta’a, Paul Ayah Abine…”

Since then public statements made on national issues  by Barrister Nkongho,who is also founder of the Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa(CHRDA),are scrutinized by Government- apparently for fear that they could instigate a mass protest against  the leadership of President Paul Biya, 87, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982.

The Anglophone crisis has resulted  to  the deaths of over 2000 people, the destruction of public and private property worth billions of FCFA and the internal displacement of over half-million people (IDPs) ,with over thirty thousand seeking refugees in Nigeria,according to credible rights groups.

It is public knowledge  that the Anglohpne crisis since 2016 has badly shaken the  Cameroon Government.

Below is the entire reply of  Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho to the University Administration :

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Nkongho Felix Agbor
Faculty of Laws and Political Science 
University of Buea
May 5, 2020

Through: 

The Dean
Faculty of Laws and Political Science
University of Buea,

To:

The Vice Chancellor

University of Buea

Re: INVITATION LETTER TO A DISCIPLINARY HEARING

“MEMORANDUM OF APPEARANCE UNDER PROTEST”

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your letter, reference 2020/093/UB/D/FLPS/FO of 29 April 2020, on the above subject matter. The cited letter was served to my office at Biaka Street, Upper Bonduma, Buea on Tuesday, 5 May 2020, at 12:08 PM. After reading through the letter, I have some observations to make. Before I do so, I will reproduce the operative part of the letter which states:

On the Instruction of the Vice-Chancellor, and in keeping with article 16 of decree No 93/036 of 29^th January 1993, you are being invited to appear before a constituted Disciplinary Panel of the University to hear allegations against you for non-compliance of professional obligations for a question you set on Law 243: titled: Political and Constitutional History of Cameroon, during the 2019/2020 first semester examination. The hearing has been slated for Wednesday 6^th May 2020.

The University of Buea (“UB”) is an institution which my generation of Anglophone students in the then University of Yaoundé, alongside civil society organizations and pressure groups advocated for, by peacefully protesting in Yaoundé and major cities in the South West and North West regions. These protests effectively pressurised the Government to upgrade the Buea University Centre to a fully fletched Anglo-Saxon styled university. Subsequently, as the President of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, we fought to protect its independence and its spirit of excellence which formed the  foundation of countless intellectuals. UB is an institution in which I take profound pride and honour to teach. For the past five years, I have sought to perpetuate its foundational spirit of excellence in future leaders and students of Law.

It follows that I am responding to your letter out of reverence for UB, and what it represents as an institution.

Regarding the content of the letter, my first observation is that it flouts laid down procedures and disrespects legal provisions. 

DISRESPECT OF LEGAL PROVISIONS

An invitation for a teacher to appear before a disciplinary panel must be preceded by  the respect of certain statutory provisions. There are a set of Decrees and Ministerial Circulars  entrench to govern and regulate disciplinary proceedings involving university teachers.

Sir, I am aware that you are not a stranger to these texts and their requirements for a teacher to appear before a disciplinary committee. However, for purposes of clarity and emphasis, permit me to refresh  your memory with these. 

1.     Antecedent Procedures Prior to Invitation to attend the Disciplinary Hearing

Under Section 57 (1) of Decree No 93/035 of 19 January 1993 on the special status of higher education staff as amended by Decree No 2000/048 of 15 March 2000,

“The rapporteur investigates the matter by all means appropriate to the manifestation of the truth. He hears the suspect on a report.”

Section 57 (2) provides that “At the end of his investigation, he writes a detailed report which he forwards to the President of the Disciplinary Council.”

It is based on this report as provided in Section 57 (3) that the President of the Disciplinary Council causes the holding of the council by a convocation addressed to the members of this Council, specifying the day, time and place of the meeting.

Similarly, “the need to protect the right to a defence” is well articulated  in the following instruments;

 -Ministerial circular No. 17/0013/MINESUP/SG/DAJ/CC of 17 October 2017 on due respect of disciplinary procedures in public institutions of Higher Education in Cameroon;

which forms part of the New University Governance, to be read in conjunction with

-Decree No. 93/027 of 19 January 1993 on common provisions applicable to universities as amended by Decree No. 05/342 of 10 September 2005;

- Decree No 93/035 of 19 January 1993 on the special status of higher education staff as amended by Decree No 2000/048 of 15 March 2000.

Reference is hereby made to the Ministerial circular, under the heading

“THE DISCIPLINARY COUNCIL AND THE PROCEDURE FOR TEACHERS. Following Section B;  “The requirements of disciplinary proceedings involving teachers” states that:

“It is incumbent primarily to the Registrar, on the occasion of a disciplinary council before which a teacher must appear, to investigate the matter. In this wise, he must obligatorily hear the suspect on the basis of a report [. . .].”

At the end of the investigation, a circumstantial report is transmitted to the President of the Disciplinary Council, in order to provoke the holding of the Disciplinary Council, through a convocation sent to the members of the Council precising the day, time and the place of the session.  

The suspect, in this case, was never invited for the purposes of any such prior investigation.

The Circular further states that:

“[t]he suspect is informed in the same way that the documents in the file are kept at his disposal with the rapporteur, for Consultation on the spot and in confidence either by himself or by his defendant.”

 The suspect was also not availed of this information.

Furthermore, Section 55(2) of Decree No 93/035 of 19 January 1993 states that

“The decision translating the teacher to the Disciplinary Council is notified to him as well as to each member of the Council” and  that

“It must state the exact nature of the facts alleged against the suspect “and the penalties to be inflicted upon him.’’ 

The aforementioned letter inviting me to a “Disciplinary Hearing” does not mention what sanctions I may incur.

Besides, Section 56(2) states that

“the teacher implicated has the possibility to defend himself or be assisted by a defender of his choice.”

The summons fails to apprise the suspect of this fact.

2.     Service of “Invitation Letter to a Disciplinary Hearing”

As earlier stated, the letter inviting me to “the Disciplinary Hearing” was served this  May  5, 2020 at 12.08 PM. The Ministerial Circular of 2017, supra, states that:

“The disciplinary procedure of a teacher being essentially contradictory, the suspect must be summoned in writing, at least five (05) days before the holding of the Council.” 

 The invitation  falls short of the minimum requirement of five days of prior notice. The use of the mandatory MUST in the circular and not the optional MAY is an imperative command and a legal obligation that must be respected. It shows the importance of the necessity to give the suspect ample time to prepare his defence. How can justice be done and be seen to be done when the suspect was served less than 24 hours to the hearing. What time will the suspect have to prepare against the very “serious allegations” against him? 

The circular also provides that:

“The teacher convocated before a disciplinary council has the right to defend himself, either orally or in writing, and may also be assisted by one of his peers or by any other defender of his choice.”

This fact was also not stated in the letter of invitation of the hearing.

It follows, that the letter inviting me to appear before a “Disciplinary Panel” disregards relevant instruments and violates my rights as a teacher in the University of Buea. It also violates my fundamental human rights for a fair hearing.  

As an advocate for justice and respect of the rule of law, should I honour the said invitation, which is a manifest and gross violation of the law, it would amount to setting the wrong precedent which will hurt and have a negative impact on teachers who in the future may be invited without any regard for due process to appear before the disciplinary panel and the long-term credibility of our academic institutions.

Consequently, to prevent the propagation of the injustices outlined above, I will not be attending the Disciplinary hearing schedule for 6^th May 2020, at I0: 00 AM. at the Boardroom of the Central Administrative Block.

Dear Sir, kindly note that I remain predisposed to defend myself, either orally or in writing, before any competent Disciplinary panel when the provisions of the relevant instruments have been complied with.

Whereof, I do forward this memorandum of appearance under protest to serve the purposes it deserves. 

Regards,

Nkongho Felix Agbor

cc:

President of the Republic,

Prime Minister, Head of Government

Minister of Higher Education