OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENSE TEAM OF SISIKU AYUK TABE & OTHER SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS-AMBAZONIAN DETAINEES

PRESS STATEMENT

“Our Resolve to Stage a Peaceful Protest in front of the Principal Prison Kondengui Yaoundé to press on the Justice and Penitentiary Administrations to grant us access to our clients is maintained”

The defense Team of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the nine others in the Yaoundé Principal Prison is disappointed to announce that the Penitentiary and Justice Administrations have denied us access to our clients in their Prison.

Our senior colleague Barrister Emmanuel Simh had gone to the prison on July 15th, 2020 to meet with the superintendent, Mr.Isidore Angoule, to express this difficulty that we have been facing for over four months.

Mr.Angoule gave him his word that he will enable us to meet our clients after the hearing of their case, on July 17th, 2020. Sadly, upon our arrival, the officers on post stated that high instructions from hierarchy forbid lawyers from accessing their clients whereas other visitors were granted access. The superintendent was reported not to be on seat. Several attempts to get to him on phone were futile.

In reaction to the ban, Senior Emmanuel Simh called the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Justice Jean de Dieu Momo, whom we know has been a human rights defender in the past, but he failed to react accordingly and we were obliged to stage a peaceful sit-in in front of the Principal Prison in Kondengui Yaoundé. We consider this as fatal to the right of counsel protected by section 240 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code “counsel shall visit his client, in detention only between the hours of six (6) am and six (6) pm”.

Additionally, section 41 of decree No.92/052 of the 27th of March 1992 regulating the Penitentiary Administration in Cameroon guarantees the right of detainees to communicate with their counsel whenever they wish during visit without the presence of any guard.

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolutions in December 17th, 2015 on the Mandela Rules wherein minimum conditions for detainees were reinforced especially rule 61-1 in particular. These rights are absolute, fundamental and foundational to the Constitutional rights of any citizen or accused

Violations of the above instruments by the Penitentiary and Justice administrations are a deliberate attempt to continue to humiliate not only lawyers but our clients whom we represent. In this desperate situation, we CANNOT and SHALL NOT cross our arms to watch them persist in their illegal acts destined to frustrate us in our practice and most importantly to drag our profession into mud in the eyes of the public.

We have resolved to return to the Principal Prison Kondengui as soon as possible, to cause the Penitentiary and Justice authorities to grant us access to our clients. We invite counsel of the entire defense team and other learned colleagues, who have been perpetually harassed, disgraced, humiliated, and denied opportunity to assist their clients properly, to join us in our action that day. Our plea is that this call for action be heeded to so that the powers that be sit up, perform their functions, obey and respect the institutions of the Republic of Cameroon by permitting us to perform our duties as lawyers as well.

It should be recalled that over two years ago, the then Cameroun Minister of Communication, Mr.Issa Tchiroma, announced that 47 of our fellow citizens had been arrested in Nigeria, and put under custody for being ‘suspected’ terrorists. Our clients, Mr Julius Ayuk Tabe, Pr. Augustine Awasum, Barrister Elias Eyambe, Dr Henry Kimeng, Dr Fidelis Nde-Che, Dr Cornelius Njikimpi Kwanga, Dr Nfor Ngalla Nfor, Dr Egbe Ogork, Barrister Blaise Shufai Berinyuy, Mr Wilfred Tassang were among them. On August 19th and 20th, 2019, they were sentenced to life imprisonment.

During the nineteen hour charade, our Clients were unrepresented, as we had withdrawn our appearances in protest of the gross travesties. Even so, the Court proceeded to carry out a lopsided trial, condemned them to life and set onerous and unconscionable conditions of Appeal – amongst them payment of deposit fees of Five Million Francs FCFA. The case is before the Court of Appeal, for the Centre Region. It is with considerable frustration and dismay that the Cameroun Government through the Ministry of Justice is doing nothing to ensure that rights of the defense are protected. Severally and without any formal apology, the legal department-prosecution failed to produce our clients before the court during three consecutive hearings.

During the last hearing on July 16th, 2020 they were finally produced before the court. The presiding judge ordered the clerk of the session to call the matters on the cause list and then proceeded to call the names of the appellants. That was done and as we were waiting for the interpreter to translate the opening remarks of the judge into English to the understanding of our clients, we were surprised to see and hear the judge in utter vexatious utterances pursuing in the French language “…ils sont où les AyukTabe là? —–ils ne sont pas dans la salle —– nous ne sommes pas en guerre ici!! —– ils doivent se lever et se présenter à la barre ——l’affaire est renvoyée au 20 août 2020”.

Invariably the collegiate bench and the prosecution all French Speaking were very unresponsive to the usage of English in violation of section 26 of Law No 2019/019 of 24th December 2019, and the case was adjourned to 20 August 20th, 2020. This decision to adjourn was suomoto.

We bring the above violations of the law visited on our client held in prisons across Cameroon to the attention of the international community, local and international press to know that “Our Resolve to as demonstrated last July 17th 2020 to Stage a Peaceful Protest in front of the Principal Prison Kondengui Yaoundé to press on the Justice and penitentiary administrations to grant us access to our clients is maintained.

That, we have as duty to uphold the rule of law and respect of institutions to ensure that the basic rights of our clients are respected. That as advocates of justice we shall never be mute to incongruous acts of injustice for if we dare, this shall tantamount to complicity to injustice and anathema to the right of defense of our clients.

Done in Buea

This 22 July 2020

Barrister Amungwa Tanyi Nico

Many people thought that news of the informal meeting between the Yaoundé government and leaders of the revolution who have been in jail for almost three years would be a welcome relief to many Southern Cameroonians, but this move designed to start talks that might deliver peace to the people of Southern Cameroons does not seem to bring happiness to many of those who thought they would be at the forefront of things.

In every society, there are always people who will feel diminished when others get recognized or known and these are the people who feel that they have been rubbed up the wrong way as the Southern Cameroonian President, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, and his collaborators honored the international community’s invitation for informal talks that might pave the way for formal and comprehensive negotiations.

Mr. Ayuk Tabe and his team have demonstrated that they are still faithful to the principles that have driven the revolution from the very first day. The team has always placed the people’s interest above its own and it understands that a decision to end the fighting on the ground does not depend entirely on only those who are in jail. This explains why the team laid out some realistic conditions that the Yaoundé government must fulfill before any serious talks could take place.

The leaders believe in the total independence of Southern Cameroons and they know that they must tread carefully. Their demands included calling for a ceasefire which will require the military to go back to the barracks. This action will make it possible for Southern Cameroonians who have been traumatized for years to be psychologically liberated to go about their businesses without fear of sudden aggression.

They also called for the unconditional release of all those who have been detained and imprisoned as a result of the crisis as well as a declaration of a general amnesty for all Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora, making it possible for them to visit their homeland without any embarrassment from the Yaoundé authorities.

The leaders also called on the Yaoundé government to participate in a genuine, open and inclusive dialogue without preconditions, with a timetable and venue, in the presence of an independent and impartial mediator acceptable to both parties.

The team was invited by the Yaoundé government that has been dragging its feet on the possibility of sincerely discussing the Southern Cameroons crisis that has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. President Ayuk Tabe and his collaborators did not have a choice. They are captives and are at the mercy of their captors, so they must listen, but have so far demonstrated that they will always express only the views that will reflect the genuine aspirations of the people of Southern Cameroons.

Since the people’s interest is paramount, they had to honor the invitation, especially as the international community was involved and has been urging both parties to seek ways to end the fighting and address those issues that triggered the fighting.

From every indication, this approach is ideal in the minds of peace-loving Southern Cameroonians, especially those who hold and understand that no matter how long the guns keep spitting out bullets, the final decision on separation, restoration or federalism will only be made at the negotiating table where all parties are properly represented; a point Southern Cameroonian leaders in jail reiterated by calling for the unconditional release of all those who have been detained and imprisoned as a result of the crisis as well as a declaration of a general amnesty for all Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora.

But a bunch of warmongers led by highly discredited and easily corruptible people like Mr. Chris Anu, the disgraced former Communication Secretary of the collapsed Sako Interim Government; Mr. Boh Herbert whose major concern has been how he can be in the spotlight and Lawyer John Fru Nsoh who had to escape because he could not stand the heat in Cameroon, but is courageous enough to tag President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe as a fraud. Lawyer John Fru Nsoh still has many races to run in his life and the ones he has in the USA are tough and should keep him busy. Instead of seeking to split Southern Cameroonians who have wholeheartedly invested their confidence in President Julius Ayuk Tabe, he should use his experience as a lawyer to unite Southern Cameroonians. 

Their constant attacks on President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe for attending the informal talks facilitated by some ambassadors speak to their bad faith and dishonesty. Their hunger for recognition is gradually reducing them to stage buffoons. The only unfortunate thing is that Southern Cameroonians are not finding their drama funny. Southern Cameroonians need solutions to their problems and not theories from people whose only solution to the crisis is very unrealistic. There will never be any military solution to the crisis and anybody who holds that Southern Cameroons will have its way through fighting is simply deluding themselves and selling false dreams to the people on ground zero who are taking the brunt of the fighting.

Common sense will dictate that during critical moments like the one Southern Cameroonians are going through; most people will demonstrate objectivity and modesty in their analysis of the situation that has already consumed some 5,000 lives. Yes, the fighters cannot down their weapons at this time and President Ayuk Tabe has not called for that. He has simply articulated the people’s aspiration and that does qualify him for a death sentence as advocated by Mr. Boh Herbert and his band of attention seekers.

There will be a negotiation and that will be after a general amnesty would have been granted and all prisoners released. The talks will surely take place in a neutral location and when that time comes, all stakeholders in the conflict will be free to express their minds to ensure that the people of Southern Cameroons see their dream come true. For now, Mr. Boh Herbert must use his “wisdom” to understand that he is splitting Southern Cameroonians and weakening their ability to resist the dictatorship coming from Yaoundé. He should be wise enough to understand that silence could be golden in certain circumstances, especially now that unity is considered a huge asset against the Yaoundé government that is looking for ways of disuniting the people with a view to imposing its laws on them.

In Africa, it is assumed that age comes with wisdom, but Mr. Boh Herbert and Barrister John Fru Nsoh have not proven that they are wise despite the clear signs of senile decay on their faces. It is time for them to stop singing the wrong music. Southern Cameroonians are not buying what they are selling. Many are simply asking if Mr. Boh Herbert and his team are not playing for the Yaoundé government that has a history of corrupting its opponents. While they accuse President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe of corruption, they must know that that logic clearly cuts both ways. For now, the Yaoundé government is simply enjoying the fake family feud that Mr. Boh Herbert and his team have triggered just to be in the spotlight. 

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group