ANGLOPHONE CRISIS: NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE

A mediated, inclusive dialogue without preconditions is needed.

Dr. Namanga Ngongi

By  Dr. Namanga Ngongi*

Most Cameroonians had expected that the terrible happenings of 2020 would be left behind and we would start a new year with renewed hope and expectations that peace would be restored in 2021. 

Last January, a convoy returning from the installation of a Divisional Officer fell into an ambush and five Cameroonians lost their lives, four military and a young lady, Mrs. Liwusi Jeme Musonge, the Divisional Delegate of Communications, Momo Division. There was an outburst of calls from political, religious and traditional authorities and from the population at large for peace to return to the Country. 

There was genuine pain in Buea, home town of Mrs. Rebecca Liwusi Jeme Musonge. She had spent Christmas with family in Buea and returned to work only a few days before the bomb explosion. As we mourned her in Buea so did the families of the four young soldiers.

The incident in Momo was followed by the killing of a plantation Manager in Lobe, Ndian Division, an attack on a petrol tanker that led to the loss of three Cameroonians and an atrocious incident that occurred in Mautu village, near Buea in Fako Division in which 10 innocent villagers including women and children were slaughtered. To crown the killings for the month, four young boys were killed in Bamenda for being found in an uncompleted building. How much cheaper can human life get?

At the end of the homily of the Pastor who officiated at the funeral service for Mrs. Rebecca Liwusi Jeme Musonge, he made the following statement: “there is no peace without justice”. I am sure most people do understand what he said. 

If injustice is at the base of the lack of peace in Cameroon then we should focus our attention on identifying the cases of injustice and work on resolving them. This would require the complainants (Secessionists) and the accused (Government) to meet and agree on the specific complaints and work out solutions. This approach is called for given that the Head of State had acknowledged that some of the stated concerns (unspecified) expressed by Ambazonians were valid. To have justice there must be honesty and to have honesty there must be a sense of integrity and courage.

Decades and centuries from now, these killings and slaughter will be cast as part of nation building but for now the people affected can only feel pain and betrayal. Pain for the dead, the wounded, the displaced and refugees and the many millions who have lost their livelihoods.

 Pain also as they see those profiting from the conflict moving around calling for a peace they do not want, a peace that will put an end to their sources of illegitimate wealth. 

The path to peace is clear but we do not seem to see it or want to see it. Cameroon needs a mediated, inclusive dialogue without preconditions. This will be facilitated by a ceasefire declared by Government and respected by the Ambazonia leadership. Release of imprisoned Ambazonia leaders and appointment of an independent mediator will enhance the chances of a positive outcome. This is not so difficult if there is political will and courage to restore peace.

Cameroon hosted the Secretary of State of the Vatican, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, from 28^th January to 3^rd February. He was here officially to place the Pallium on the shoulders of His Grace, Archbishop Andrew Nkea of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province. By any standards, the ceremony was a great success. The Archbishop and the Cardinal deplored the suffering of people in the North West and South West Regions and called for peace to be restored. 

The Papal Envoy called for dialogue, peace and justice and in Yaounde he said peace depended on prayer, hope, faith and actions of man. It would appear that prayer, hope and faith being not so visible are difficult to measure while the actions of man can be measured but so far these have centered on the prosecution of the war, calls for surrender, organization of a non-inclusive Grand National Dialogue and an unorthodox DDR but peace seems to be far off in the horizon.

The Vatican does not normally get directly involved in conflict resolution except when protagonists in a conflict have turned deaf ears on the cries of populations and attempts by the international community to broker peace. The Vatican has no army and no vote on the Security Council with which to enforce its views. The Vatican on the contrary has very strong moral authority. 

The Vatican’s Secretary of State will report to His Holiness Pope Francis on the outcome of discussions held with High Officials during his visit to Cameroon and will keep the big powers informed. I do believe he left behind a follow-up mechanism to ensure that his efforts would yield fruit. It will be clear in a few months whether or not the visit of Cardinal Pietro Parolin had any influence on the Anglophone sociopolitical crisis.

The window of opportunity for a locally driven solution is narrowing. The Security Council and the international community cannot sit, arms folded, five years into a conflict that has led to over five thousand deaths, a million displaced and the loss of sources of livelihood for millions more. 

The Security Council and the international community are likely to initiate consideration of measures that would encourage or constrain the protagonists to sit around a dialogue table. Knowing the hardships associated with an externally driven scenario, I would encourage the Government and Ambazonia leaders to agree on a mediated process as soon as possible. The war has already dragged on for too long. Everything should be done for peace to be restored.

Five years into a war, even erstwhile friends start to worry about its utility. Hunger spreads and weakens the spirits of the population. Access to services declines and people lose their lives for minor illnesses. The grip of hopelessness on the population would make it even more difficult to engage in socioeconomic development efforts when the war ends. When children in villages start producing toy guns and killer helicopters, we should be worried because the trauma of war and death will remain with them for a very long time.

 The general sense of frustration of youths in the North West and South West Regions due to the derailment of their education, and especially so for girls; the very high rate of unemployment, harassment, arrest and extra-judicial killings should come to an end and be replaced by hope and faith in a future that is commensurate with the developmental potentials of the country. Concrete actions that will generate hope, build faith and incite enthusiasm in youths are awaited.

As I conclude this article, today the 11^th of February, 2021, the 60^th anniversary of the plebiscite to determine the modality for independence of Southern Cameroons, I feel very sad. I remember the great expectation with which my father waited for the counting of votes and declaration of the result.

 A general climate of peace prevailed despite the two diametrically opposed choices: independence by joining with the Republic of Cameroon or independence by integration with Nigeria. The campaign had been noisy and dire warnings had been pronounced by political leaders on the consequences that awaited the Southern Cameroons if it chose one option or the other. 

When the Biafra war broke out people in the former Southern Cameroons rejoiced that they had been spared the pain of that war. Little did we know that our turn to weep lay ahead of us and that the prophetic words of Dr.  Emmanuel Mbella Lififa Endeley, former Premier of Southern Cameroons, would come to pass. We should now work towards redressing the fears he raised.

A span of life of sixty years is a long time for a human being but not so long for a country. However, it is long enough to recognize that mistakes have been made in our nation building effort. 

We need to recognize, discuss and reach agreement on solutions, not necessarily perfect solutions but those with which we can live. Not to strive to find a peaceful solution is worse than the mistakes themselves. A Government that admits to the existence of mistakes, especially when many of them were inherited from a previous leadership, ends up being strengthened, not weakened.

 A lot of energy and financial resources are being spent on humanitarian assistance in support of displaced families and on ceremonies to honour and bury the war dead. The best form of assistance to IDPs would be to end the war so families can pick up the pieces and restart their lives and the best way to honour the war dead is to stop the killing. 

A mediated inclusive dialogue without preconditions should be convened and peace restored before the 60^th anniversary of Cameroon’s unification. This is urgent. Now is the time for peace!

*Dr. Namanga Ngongi is a retired former Senior Official of the United Nations.

 

 

Anglophone crisis: President Biya vows to hunt down secessionists

By Tache Fuhlem.

Samuel Ikome Sako,President ,Ambazonia

As calls by President Paul Biya for separatist fighters to drop their weapons seem to be falling on deaf ears, the Cameroonian leader has made public his resolve to hunt them down, wherever they are hiding. The Cameroon government had convened, from September 30 to October 4, 2019 in Yaounde, what it termed the Major National Dialogue (MND), intended to seek solutions to the escalating Anglophone crisis. 

Common Law lawyers’ and Anglophone teachers’ protests over corporate demands had sparked off in 2016 what is today known as the Anglophone Crisis. 

The recommendations of the MND failed to satisfy the expectations of separatist leaders who had hoped and pressed for an independent state for English Speakers in Cameroon.

 After the MND, deadly clashes between Government forces and Separatist fighters have continued in the Northwest and Southwest regions of the country, otherwise known Anglophone Cameroon.

 In his 2021 New Year message to the nation, delivered on December 31, 2020, President Paul Biya admitted that the insecurity now prevailing in the Northwest and Southwest regions provoked by the Anglophone Crisis was causing untold damage to country.

 “All the perpetrators will be hunted down relentlessly and brought to justice”, vowed the President who likened these so-called ‘secessionists’ to murderers. President Paul Biya , who has ruled Cameroon since November 1982, has insisted that Cameroon remains “one and indivisible.” 

In May 2018 while launching Government Emergency Humanitarian Plan to mitigate the effects of the Anglophone Crisis, then Prime Minister Yang Philemon, blamed the separatist leaders and extremists in the Diaspora and their local networks for moving away from socio-professional grievances to secessionist plans and for ultimately forming armed groups and embarking on “terrorist attacks against the authorities and civilian populations in a futile attempt to concretize their pipe dream of partitioning Cameroon.” 

Cameroon Government in 2018 accused separatist leaders abroad such as Mark Bareta , Ayaba Cho Lucas , Tapang Ivo Tanku and Akwanga Ebenezer of inciting the population to hatred and violence . 

The arrest , prosecution and imprisonment of many separatists back home and Government’s threats to hunt for activists abroad believed to be instigating the fight for Anglophone independence have continued to scare activists wishing to return to the country.. 

Security forces have raided neighborhoods suspected to be hideouts for separatist fighters in the two English-speaking regions, and such raids have resulted to the killing of allegedly innocent people.

 For example, in June 2018, a military raid in Maumu village, in the Southwest region resulted in the shooting of one woman, Nalova Sophie, but who fortunately did not die. Nalova Sophie is said to be the sister of Mafani Emmanuel Kaisa, an ardent SCNC activist/advocate of the independence of English-speakers in Cameroon living in Europe, but was said to have sneaked into Maumu, prompting the raid.

 Mafani Emmanuel Kaisa is said to be among Anglophone rights activists abroad suspected by the Government of sponsoring the fight for a separate state for Northwest and Southwest regions, formerly known as UN British Southern Cameroons.

 Even his uncle, Mola Mbame Ngando’s right hand was chopped off by unknown armed men in the heat of the Anglophone crisis. In July, 2018 at Sandpit -Bakweri town Buea, several young men were shot dead in broad day light by the military on suspicion that they were secessionists planning violent attacks. 

That massacre forced many young men of the locality to flee for safety, fearing a repeat of the incident. Among victims of the Sandpit massacre, were a popular young man Esambe Roland Ndune and one Monono Emmanuel Evakise 

Over 4000 people-both civilians and security forces have been killed as Government forces and armed separatist continue to engage in deadly clashes. According to the United Nations, over forty thousand Cameroonians are seeking asylum in Nigeria and about half a million are internally Displaced people (IDPs). 

Thousands of others are hiding in bushes as the military has reportedly burnt down their houses and villages, searching for separatist fighters, who have become very violent and bloody in their attacks . In 2017 Cameroon government outlawed Southern Cameroons National Council, (SCNC) ,which was created in 1994 to facilitate the restoration of the independence of Southern Cameroons, a former UN British trust territory, which gained independence on October 1,1961 by joining La Republique of Cameroun, a former French colony.

 The then Minister of Territorial Administration, René Sadi, in his January 17, 2017 banning order, stated: “Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) are declared null and void for their purpose and activities, which are contrary to the Constitution and liable to jeopardize the security of the state, territorial integrity, national unity and national integration” 

The SCNC and CACSC ban was followed with the arrest of CACSC president Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho and and his secretary Dr.Neba Fontem . 

Less than one week ,Supreme Court’s Deputy Attorney-General, Ayah Paul Abine, perceived by Cameroon government to be an advocate of a separate state for Anglophones was arrested and jailed for eight months. 

Seseku Ayuk Tabe, pioneer President of the Interim Government of Ambazonia,the name separatists intend to call their own state upon attaining independence, was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Yaounde Military Tribunal .

 Dr. Samuel Sako Ikome is the President the Interim Government of Ambazonia. 

CAMEROON -EWUSI MBONGO ERIC: A QUIET ACHIEVER

 

Ewusi Mbongo Eric

By Christopher Ambe

 Ewusi Mbongo Eric, 47, Knight of The Cameroon National Order of Valour, is Deputy Director-General (DGM) of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Promotion Agency (APME), Yaounde, since August 2016.

This indigene and elite of Buea is a senior civil servant and quiet professional achiever.

Mr. Ewusi, fondly called by friends as “Espoir” (hope in French), a moniker he adopted from his uncle “Hope EWUSI” noted for his sociality, is a social mixer.

His classmates call him “Mbongos” because he was a skillful basketball player while a student of Baptist High School (BHS) Great Soppo,Buea in the mid 1980’s.

Mr. Ewusi is not only noted for his duty-consciousness but also for his humility, self-discipline, positive mindset and a high sense of patriotism.

According to people who know him so well, when Mr. Ewusi is entrusted with any assignment he executes it with military precision winning the confidence of his superiors.

Before his presidential appointment as DGM of APME, this functionary had been Sub-director for the Informal Sector in the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts (MINPMEESA) ,from2005 -2008.

From 2008 -2010, Mr.Ewusi served as Regional Delegate for SMEs, Social Economy and Handicrafts, MINPMEESA, South West Region.

 He oversaw the proper functioning of divisional offices in the region.

His impressive output as Regional Delegate led to his appointment in the same ministry as Director of Social Economy and Handicrafts, later renamed as  Directorate of Handicrafts and Migration of the Informal Economy which  he led, satisfactorily,from March 2010 to August 2016, when President Paul

Biya elevated him with his appointment as DGM of APME.

Observers agree that Mr. Ewusi is more a man-of-action than words, whether in office or in socio-political settings .Some observers even hold that he smiles and laughs only in context.

This gentleman who in 1996 graduated with an L.L.B(Hons) degree in Law from the University of Buea(where he also minored in Political Sciences) , proceeded to the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM), Yaounde in 1998 ;and in 2000, he graduated from there as a Labour & Social Insurance administrator, which was a well calculated vision of his.

Mr.Ewusi, as an administrator, is very eager to learn, conscious that good leadership requires updating oneself.

That perhaps justifies why this Cameroonian workaholic has, for the past several years, been on special trainings abroad.

Mr. Ewusi has been globe-trotting and upgrading his management skills all in a bid to contribute his utmost to the development of the fatherland.

For example, in 2018 he was in Kenya-Nairobi for training program with the African Union on “strategic management tools; total productivity management; total productivity maintenance, continuous improvement, waste management and business problem solving schemes.”

He had before been to Japan, Osaka (2009) for a specialized training on Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Innovative Development Policies, which was organized and financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA).

In 2008, Mr. Ewusi travelled to Singapore for a specialized training on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Promotion Strategies and Cluster development – Commonwealth Developing Countries, lessons from Singapore- organized and financed by the Common Wealth Organization in London.

The previous year (2007), he was shortlisted for a special training in China (Beijing) for a china-funded Africa training program, on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Transformation and Promotion of Non Timber Forest products in developing countries.

Mr. Ewusi, also fondly called Buea Boy, not only acquired his university education in Buea, the “Town of Legendary Hospitality” but also his elementary and post-primary education: from 1991-1993,he did his high school at Bilingual Grammar School Molyko-Buea, where he passed GCE Advanced Level. From 1985-1990 he attended Baptist High School (BHS) Buea where he obtained the GCE Ordinary level. He did his elementary education at Presbyterian Primary School Buea where he passed, in 1985, the First School Leaving Certificate.

Mr Ewusi Eric has also been given very important professional responsibilities in the course of his 20 years career.

In 2019,Mr. Ewusi led a Cameroon delegation on the instructions of his Minister-MINPMEESA, to a working and bench marking session of his Agency- APME and the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Agency of Nigeria-SMEDAN in March 2016 and August 2019.

In 2018, he headed a Cameroon delegation to the Benchmarking working session in Ankara and Instanbul, as a follow-up of the visit of the President Paul Biya to Turkey, with the Agency for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Cameroon and its sister Agency KOSGEB of Ankara Turkey, facilitated by the Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA), towards an international win-win capacity-building partnership for SMEs stakeholders in both countries.

In May 2016 he was member of the official delegation led by the MINPMEESA on a special Mission to Cairo, authorized by the Head of State for a benchmarking working session on SME standardization; functioning of the International handicrafts Centre and signing of an MOU for the collaboration of both countries.

In May 2014 he was expert in the Cameroon delegation led by the Minister of Labour and Social Security to the ILO conference in Geneva on “Transitioning of the Informal Economy towards the formal economy”.

He was also a member of the experts’ meeting of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission of the African Union in Namibia in preparation for the ILO conference in Geneva in April 2014.

Head of Delegation of craftspeople and inter-ministerial delegation to key International Handicrafts fairs and exhibitions; SIAO-Ouagadougou; SAFEM-NIGER; SIATA-ALGERIA-ABUJA ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR; marche ivorien artisanal-COTE D’IVOIRE; Jerusalem Arts and Crafts Fair; Togo etc With diverse  prices won to show Cameroon creativity in crafts.

He has been a MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS for the Committee of the Development of Handicrafts in Africa (CODEPA), representing Cameroon, IN OUAGADOUGOU, ABIDJAN, DAKAR, NIGER and GABON.

He has also been the CODEPA REGIONAL DELEGATE FOR CENTRAL AFRICAN REGION and chair of the conference of Experts of handicrafts in central Africa in Libreville Gabon from 2011-2014.

To say the least, his representations have reportedly been very highly appreciated by hierarchy, the reason he was exceptionally recognized (by Decree N° 2016/430 of 27 October 2016) as Knight of The Cameroon National Order of Valour.

Mr. Ewusi has served as a member of Board of Directors of Cameroon Opportunities Industrialization Center (COIC),Buea  for over five years.

 He is also founder of the Small Business Promotion Association of Buea.

He is a member of the ruling CPDM.

Mr.Ewusi is married to Dr Ethel Joffi Ewusi born MOLUA and has three children.

He is a  Presbyterian  Christian .

Cameroon :UN Inaugurates Rights Resource Centre in Buea

Officials inside the Regional Human Rights Resource Centre-Buea 

By Christopher Ambe

The United Nations Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa in Yaounde was  in Buea from December 2-10, 2020, and carried out  a series of human rights activities including the launching of the first-ever Regional Human Rights Resource Centre.

The UN Center began its activities at Mountain Hotel Buea with a three-day (December 2-4) “Sensitization Workshop for Media Professionals on Human Rights and the Socio-economic Impacts of COVID-19 in Cameroon, during which journalists were drilled on communicating from a human rights perspective and they drafted COVIC-19 sensitization messages.

The three-day workshop, which assembled 30 journalists from Northwest,Southwest,Littoral and Centre regions, was facilitated among others, by Fonyuy Kiven Timothy,Human Rights Officer ,Information & Advocacy at the UN Human Rights Regional Office for Central Africa.

 The workshop was followed by rights sensitization visits to schools in Fako Division led by Fonyuy Kiven Timothy, and some Human Rights journalists.

Then, on December 10, 2020, which was the 72^nd Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,Louis-Marie Bouaka,director of the UN Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, inaugurated  the first-ever Human Rights Resource Centre  in Buea.

The Buea resource centre is a partnership between the UN Rights Center in Yaounde and the Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), Buea.

The HR resource center, which is located at CHRDA premises, is open to the public for education and research.

CHRDA,which has existed for over 15 years, was founded by   Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho, who is also its CEO. Agbor Nkongho is a renowned Cameroonian rights crusader.

“We hope the HR Resource Centre would be useful to everyone; it is open to the public,” said Agbor Nkongho at its inauguration,which was witnessed among officials by Christopher Tambe Tiku, Regional Secretary of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, Southwest Region. 

Agbor Nkongho was thankful to the UN HR Regional Centre for its support towards the realization of the HR resource centre.

“Let us keep fighting against injustices in all forms. Let us ensure that we are the change we need to make Cameroon a better country.”

Every year, December 10 is celebrebarted as International Human Rights Day. The theme for 2020 International Human Rights Day (IHRD)   was “Recover Better”.

 Mr. Bouaka, who inaugurated the HR resource Center later, same day, held a press conference on the 2020 IHRD and co-chaired the launch of a CHRDA handbook on Human Rights at Mountain Hotel,Buea.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets out a broad          range of fundamental rights and freedoms to which all of us are entitled,” the Director of the UN Human Rights center told the press conference. “It guarantees the rights of every individual everywhere, without distinction based on nationality, place of residence,gender,national or ethnic origin,religion,language,or any other status.”

Answering questions from reporters, the Director emphasized the relevance Human Rights in daily lives.

With regards to the Anglophone Crisis,Mr. Bouaka regretted that “ the right to education has been violently undermined along  with the right to life”. He added, “It is important to recover better the schooling conditions of children in the Northwest and Southwest regions, but also the North.”

The director admitted that 2020 was a very challenging year for human rights as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, which he said exacerbated the already existing human rights concerns within the sub region.

Group  picture during the inauguration of the Human Rights Centre

“Our capacity to implement the sub regional programme was greatly reduced due to the barrier measures put in place by governments of the sub region”, noted the director who added that thanks to ICT the UN HR Centre touched “indispensable targets with key human rights messages around the COVID-19 pandemic, and advocated for human rights complaint measures to deal with the virus”

He hoped that in 2021 the HR Centre would “get more people to know about their rights and thus contribute to s society of Mutual respect, accountability and the rule of law.”

At the book launch, Mr. Bouaka hailed CHRDA for publishing a handbook on human rights, which he recommended as a “unique tool for national human rights actors.”

The Nigerian Consul-General for the Southwest and Northwest regions attended the press conference, book launch and inauguration of the HR resource centre.

 

 

Buea ex-separatists’ protest: HELP-OUT urges gov’t to prioritize rights protection

By  Nformuluh Tanji

 HELP-OUT, a Buea-based Human Rights non-governmental organization, has reacted to a February 1, 2021 street protest by ex-Ambazonian fighters in Buea, urging the Cameroon government to look into the protesters’ grievances as a matter of urgency.

“We urge the Government to redress the alleged grievances raised by these former separatist fighters as a matter of urgency”, said Clarkson Obasi, director of HELP-OUT, which has been operating in Cameroon since 1998.

“HELP OUT fears that if government does not treat with seriousness the grievances of the ex-fighters, this will discourage hundreds of fighters in the bushes who may be willing to surrender their arms and join the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Centre”

The ex-combatants, who for months have been camped at a government structure known as DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Rehabilitation) Centre,in the premises of Borstal Institute , staged the street protest by barricading the  Borstal Inistitute junction-Bokwaongo stretch of road, disrupting traffic and causing panic in Buea.

 The protesting ex-combatants who before were   separatists fighting for the independence of minority English-speakers in Cameroon, had been  convinced  by  Biya government into surrendering their weapons in exchange for protection and better living conditions including job opportunities.

The call on separatist fighters to lay down their arms has been part of sustained efforts by   Cameroon government towards resolving the Anglophone crisis, which erupted in 2016 and has led to the death of thousands of both civilians and armed forces, and wanton destruction of property estimated in billions of FCFA.

The protesting ex-fighters complained of being poorly fed, .poor living conditions and unfulfilled job promises by the Government.

The protest forced Southwest regional military and government officials who included Dr. Mohamadou, who is Secretary-General at Southwest Governor’s office in Buea to meet with the protesters, during which meeting the latter were appeased and told the Government, would look into their worries urgently.

HELP OUT Director Obasi, in the press  release, reiterated that Cameroon being a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international conventions “must take the promotion and protection  of Human Rights as a priority and not an option”.

The National Disarmament,Demobilization and Reintegration Committee, abbreviated as "NDDRC" was  created on November 30,2018 by  Cameroon’s President Paul Biya  and  placed under the authority of the Prime Minister and Head of Government.

The NDDRC is responsible among other duties of: taking the necessary steps to de-radicalize ex-fighters; sensitizing and providing multifaceted assistance to home communities to facilitate the reintegration of ex-fighters; helping to reintegrate ex-fighters into civil Iife, particularly by organizing, trainings and providing them with tools and means of production and assistance for the creation of income-generating activities.

The    NDDRC has regional centres in Bamenda, Nothwest Region; Buea,Southwest Region and Mora in the Far North region,but more such centres can be set up when and where necessary.

 

 

Marriage: Honorable but not a must

 By  Theobin Fuh Tumfung

Marriage is created and ordained by God. As such, man who is God’s creation has adopted it.

Marriage and the subsequent formation of a family is the natural unit and basis of society, justifying the much importance society places on marriage. There exist Biblical references about the sanctity and beauty of marriage such as Ephesian 5:23-25 and 1Corinthians 7: 1-2

 These references have led many to think that marriage with its honorability is compulsory.  Not the case!

Marriage is one of the human rights enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration stipulates in its Article 16(1), “Men and women of full age without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion have the right to marry and form a family.”

Hence, marriage is a right that everybody has, which should not be denied those who have attained the legal age for marriage and want to exercise it.  

 However, an individual may decide to derogate the right to marry.

Marriage is an agreement between a man and a woman to enter in to a legal permanent relationship.

Cameroon allows for two kinds of marriages: monogamy and polygamy

 Monogamy is defined as a voluntary union between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others while   polygamy is a union between one man and two or more wives to the exclusion of other men. Monogamy and polygamy in Cameroon are governed by the 1981 Civil Status Registration Ordinance.

 Since marriage is a life-long commitment and the beginning of a family,  Cameroon law requires that, an individual who intends to get married  must fulfill certain conditions , which include: the intending spouses must be male and female(This  automatically outlaws same-sex marriage in Cameroon), the parties must be eighteen years and above, the parties  must not be involved in a previously un-dissolved monogamous marriage; they must not be related by blood or marriage; the intending spouses have to fully consent to the marriage. Consent to marriage is salient and must be given freely by both intending spouses.

 Article 16(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, marriage shall be entered in to only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

Cameroon Penal Code, Section 356, punishes with imprisonment from 5 to 10 years and with fine from 25000 – 100,000 FCFA anyone who compels another to marry without his/her consent.

 After fulfilling aforementioned conditions at least one month before the celebration of the marriage, the parties must declare their intention to marry before a civil status registrar of the place of residence or birth of one of the intending spouses.

30-day banns shall be published by the civil status registrar on the notice board of the registry. Such publication enables anyone who has legitimate interest in the wedding to object to it.

 Upon the expiry of a 30-day period and without any objection to the marriage, it shall be celebrated before the civil status registrar in the presence of the spouses and two witnesses.

The marriage certificate shall be signed by the registrar, the witnesses and the spouses; each spouse shall receive an original copy of the marriage certificate, and a copy archived at civil status registry.

What legalizes a marriage is its solemnization before a civil status registrar. Church wedding is purely ceremonial and has no legal backing.

Cameroon Civil Status Ordinance renders payment of dowry as a pre-condition for marriage futile. Its section 70(1) says the total, partial or non-payment of dowry shall have no effect on the validity of marriage.

 Thus, intending spouses need not worry about payment of bride price/dowry before legalizing their marriage.

But Cameroonians attach much importance to culture and traditions. Many think bride rice ought to be settled before legalization of marriage.

Some say the non-payment of bride price before marriage could have negative effects on the union in the long-run.

In today’s society, individuals cohabitate for long, claiming to be married, whereas they are still to get married as legally required.

 Cohabitation is not a crime but has disadvantages. In case one party dies, the other party cannot claim property of the deceased irrespective of the length of time both spent together. Even if both cohabiters have children one party could still abandon the “fake marriage” and marry a different person.

Legalizing a marriage  prevents relatives of  deceased spouse from claiming proprietary interest in his/her property since the bereaved spouse is first in line of succession, with regard to right  to the deceased’s property.

Indeed, marriage is honorable and makes people more responsible.  Among other benefits, married couples command respect in society

Many people today are under pressure to get married; the pressure does not only come from within them but also from the society. They should understand that, it is better to remain single and be responsible somehow than marry unprepared or the wrong person and usher in a bleak future

Not getting married is neither a sin nor crime. There exist no penal sanctions to people who prefer to stay single.  Even the Bible does not oblige anyone to get married .1 Corinthians 7:9 says: ‘If they cannot exercise self-control, it is better for them to get married than burn with passion.” In other words, this verse means that, if a person can exercise self -control, then he or she is free to remain single

Courtesy:Africa Excellence Magazine,Cameroon