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.