Fako Pre- election Dispute: Court Orders Acceptance of Luma Stephen’s candidature.

Luma Stephen Njoke 

By Christopher Ambe

Buea-Cameroon- The Administrative Court of the Southwest Region, on October 13, sitting in a panel of three, in Buea, ordered that, the name of a certain Mbella Etoga Gervacius be expunged from the approved list of Fako candidates for the Regional Elections scheduled for December 6.

 The Court took the decision after it established that, Mbella Etoga’s name was fraudulently included on the list of candidates.

The Court then ordered that Luma Stephen Njoke, a committed Buea CPDM member, who petitioned against the fraudulent inclusion of Mbella Etoga on the list be accepted as a replacement.

Luma , who had submitted his application for the coming regional elections as a candidate for the Fako Constituency but was excluded from the ELECAM-approved   list of Fako candidates, initiated legal action against ELECAM (1st Respondent), CPDM (2^nd Respondent) and Mbella Etonga Gervacius (3^rd Respondent), to prove that the selection process of Fako candidates was marred by illegalities.

Justice Mbu Edward Osoh, President of the Administrative Court, Buea, headed the panel of three judges who heard and adjudicated the matter. The two other judges were Justice Christopher Ofon and Justice Lonje Martin Bende.

The panel found the petition of Luma, who showed proof of his complying with the provisions of the laws, “admissible in its form and founded on merits.

Luma’s  contention was that Mbella Etoga [reportedly residing in the USA]  was not registered in the electoral register as required by law, a claim which ELECAM later confirmed in its court submission, stating:

“That following a meticulous verification of the electoral registers for Muyuka Council Branch, it is admitted that candidate No. 20 on the list of Fako Divisional Delegates, Mbella Etoga Gervacius, is not registered on the electoral registers of Election Cameroon. Consequently, [his] attestation of registration is invalid.”

Mbella Etoga is residing in the USA and when in Cameroon resides at Government Station Buea.

But  according to court documents, he  claimed to have   registered  in the electoral register of Muyuka in Fako Division where  he was fraudulently issued  an  attestation dated  2012, thereby misleading the CPDM to consider him as a candidate for the coming election.

There are allegations that Lifaka Emilia who is President of the Permanent Fako Divisional Delegation of the CPDM Central Committee is not happy with the court ruling, which imposes a candidate on the party.

But contacted for reaction on Friday, Hon LiFaka declined to comment on the ruling.

It is unclear whether the party hierarchy plans to accept the court ruling or to appeal it.

But some senior Fako CPDM officials have said the inclusion of Luma Stephen on the list as ordered by the Court will be good for the party especially in Fako CPDM, which seems to be marred by internal wrangling.

 “If the party does not accept Luma’s candidature, he may proceed with further legal action which may lead to the cancellation of the entire list because of alleged irregularities,” noted a well-placed CPDM official, who chose not to be named. “

Who is Luma Stephen?

Luma Stephen Njoke, described as an asset in Buea CPDM, served as Alternate MP for Buea Urban for six years.

In recent parliamentary elections, Luma applied to be a CPDM substantive candidate for Buea Urban,but his candidacy could not sail through .

A devout CPDM militant, he served as President of Buea Central 1 CPDM Sub-Section for eight years

This committed CPDM, now a   retired public accountant, served as Treasurer of Buea Council for several years.

As Treasurer of Buea Council, a duty-conscious Luma was still retained as a senior auditor at Buea Regional Treasury. He had served as Interim Treasurer for Tiko, from 2002-2003.

 Before his transfer to the Southwest Region,Luma  served as Chief of Bureau for Councils,Wum Treasury, from 1982-4;occupied post of Chief of Service, Cash and Accounts, Divisional Treasury,Wum from 1984-96;Interim Sub-Treasurer for Santa, from 2001-2 and Chief of Brigade,Recovery,Bamenda Provincial Treasury(2000-2002)

 While working in Wum,Northwest Province, Luma occupied the position of secretary of Luo -Engha CPDM subsection in Menchum 1 Section from 1996 -2002.

Cameroon:Zachary Nkwo Scholarship Scheme Ups Beneficiaries.

By Christopher Ambe

 A scholarship scheme launched for undergraduate journalism students in honor of CRTV veteran journalist/ace sport commentator, Zachary Nkwo, who died in June 2017 at the age of 69,  has been modified to benefit eight applicants, up from three at  its launch in 2017.

Officials of Zachary Nkwo Scholarship Scheme with journalists

 The scheme is intended to promote brilliant and outstanding journalism students, to shine like the deceased, who did Cameroon proud in the exercise his profession.

The scholarship will henceforth not only be for the less privileged students but also for those with outstanding performance in secondary school.

The three pioneer laureates were Lindjeck Antoine Aymard of ASMAC Yaoundé, and Elame Germany and Nako Esukisse Michael of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC), University of Buea.

But only two will be graduating this year as Elame Germany was later dropped from the scholarship due to non-compliance with the requirements. was later dropped for non-compliance.

At a press conference, last October 10, at Eta Palace Hotel in Buea,  the Board of Directors of the Zachary Nkwo Scholarship Scheme, revealed that after  reviewing its first phase, they  modified the scheme as follows:

-Eight students can benefit from the scholarship (four from ASMAC Yaounde and four from JMC, University of Buea

-Scholarship will henceforth be a book/tuition/transport/partial accommodation scholarship and the financial package stands at 250,000FCFA per student for each academic year for three years; it is broken down as: 50,000 FCFA for fees, 50,000 FCFA for books, 50,000 FCFA for transport and 100,000Fcfa for partial accommodation

Mr.Amo khater ,who is the commercial director of SOURCE DU PAYS in Muyuka  and chairman  of the scheme’s Board of Directors,  presided at the press conference in the presence of  other board members viz:Professor Victor Julius Ngoh(brother to late Zachary Nkwo),Veteran journalist Kevin Njomo, Nana  Walter Wilson of CRTV,Mrs.Mabel Yufani and Mr. Isidore Agha.

With the passing of Zachary Nkwo,Mr. Amo  khater thought of how  SOURCE DU PAYS  could  keep the deceased’s memory alive  and thanks to Mr. Isidore Agha, the scholarship  scheme was born.

 The scholarship was initially 550,000Fcfa for each of the three beneficiaries from JMC /UB and ASMAC for three years.

The eligibility criteria are: must be Cameroonian; must show proof of admission into JMC/UB or ASMAC Yaoundé; application letter either in English or French to the Board explaining the candidate’s choice of journalism as a career and explaining why he or she should be considered  an underprivileged  student ; two recommendation letters to the Board chair, one from a religious minister of any mainstream religious  denominations and the other from the principal of the applicant’s secondary school/college.

(The deadline for submission is October 25, 2020. For more inquiries- Email:zacharynkwoscholarship@gmail.com or Tel: 670111242 or PO Box 914, Douala)

 A recipient of the scholarship must submit end-of –semester results to the Board and must not repeat an academic year or be sanctioned by the University for any academic or disciplinary offence.

At the press conference,Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh presented a brief biography of the deceased who was an ex-student of St Joseph’s College, Sasse; CCAST Bambili and ASMAC Yaoundé while Kevin  Njomo,retired CRTV journalist, recalled some  lessons he learned from Zachary Nkwo,who was his senior in  St.Joseph’s College,Sasse,Buea.