Cameroon :Lawyers say late Barrister Ekontang Elad was an epitome of professionalism

Barrister Samuel Ekontang Elad was in 2022recognised by Fako Lawyers' Association

By Christopher Ambe

Samuel Ekontang Elad , a Buea-based  veteran lawyer  who practiced  for  over three  decades and mentored  many outstanding  Cameroonian advocates including former  President of  Cameroon Bar Association ,Barrister Eta Besong Junior, on May 29,  died at  the Buea Regional Hospital  where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.

Late Ekontang Elad had turned 82 last May 4 and breathed his last 25 days after his 82^nd birth anniversary. He was born in Buea on May 4, 1941 to Richard Ntang Elad and Mary Evenye Elad.

After his university education, he trained as a lawyer in Britain and thereafter excelled as a legal practitioner, to the admiration of many of his colleagues and clients.

 Although a popular lawyer, Barrister Elad became even popular in April 1993 when he chaired the 1993 All -Anglophone Conference (AAC) in Buea and later AAC II in Bamenda  

The 1993 AAC gave birth to the Buea Declaration, which advocated   that Cameroon should have a system of government that is federal in character, to no avail.

But the ACC would later be transformed into the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), which was advocating the restoration of the Independence of Southern Cameroons, guided by its motto “The Force of Argument and Not The Argument of Force”.

Barrister Elad became the pioneer Chairman of the SCNC upon its creation in 1994 and led a delegation, which included former Anglophone leaders J .N Forcha and S.T Muna , to the UN to fight for Anglophone rights.

But the SCNC, considered by the Cameroon government as a separatist group, was banned on January 17, 2017 following the eruption in late 2016 of what is today known as the Anglophone Crisis.  Cameroon government had suspected that the SCNC was fuelling the Anglophone crisis, behind- the-scene.

According to the banning order of the then Minister of Territorial Administration, René Sadi, “These groups 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 [Cameroon] Constitution and liable to jeopardize the security of the state, territorial integrity, national unity and national integration”.

Barrister Elad also served for several years as Board Chairman of Cameroon Opportunities Industrialization Centre (COIC),Buea.

Because of his high sense of professionalism and excellence, Barrister Elad was held in high esteem by the public especially by magistrates and lawyers.

According to Barrister Samuel Eboa, “Barrister Sam Ekontang Elad was one of the most senior Lawyers in the South West Region and might be in Cameroon.

“Barrister Elad was a Bar Council Member and the Representative of the Batonnier in the South West Province (Cameroon) around 1975 .He was trained in one of the Inns in England and was amongst the first indigenous lawyers. Between 1960 and early 1970’s, we only had British trained lawyers and lawyers from Nigeria practicing in the former West Cameroon. Barrister Weledji, who is in Limbe is senior and older to Barrister Elad”

 Barrister Elad trained now senior barristers like Emeritus Batonnier Eta Besong Junior, Tangunyi Gilbert, Loh Patrick and a host of others …

“Some of us are his grand professional sons.  I was trained by Barrister Eta Besong, one of his trainees.

“Last year Barrister Elad’s professional excellence was acknowledged by the Fako Lawyers Association (FAKLA) with an award.”

Reacting to the sad news, Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho, founder of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA),Buea  ,said this of  the deceased senior colleague:

“The death of Senior Barrister-at-Law Ekontang Elad has left a vacuum in the legal profession in Cameroon. From a personal perspective, he inspired me to read law. My father used to talk a lot about him as a fine lawyer.

“He was a larger-than-life figure, a legal colossus, a pace setter; he had a mastery of the law; a gentleman par excellence; he was courteous and honorable

“I related with him not only as a lawyer but someone who was a rights activist, fighting against oppression and marginalization of the Anglophones in Cameroon. His death is a big loss! He has left his footprints on the sands of time”

Barrister Shribe Wilfred, a former trainee of Barrister Elad, said the deceased was not only his mentor but much more like a father.

“I was admitted to Ekontang Elad Chambers in 2005 when I was aspiring to become a lawyer. I became a full-fledged lawyer in 2011 and worked with Barrister Elad until 2016 when I and Barrister Dickson Mbumbu opened our own chambers, Hallmark Law Firm. My time with Barrister Elad was so fruitful because I learnt so much. He was quite resourceful.”

Barrister Shribe said he was fortunate to have worked for over 10 years with Barrister Elad   whom he likened to a “generous, soft spoken legal juggernaut”

“He has left his foot prints on the legal profession in Cameroon. He was a legal icon that I'll always live to remember. He was a legend”, Barrister Shribe noted.

(This article initially published in The Horizon Newspaper, Cameroon, of Thursday June 1, 2023 has been updated here)