LRC PM Dion Ngute completes empty promise tour

dn in sw LRC PM Dion Ngute completes empty promise tour

Mr Ngute continued his empty promises in the South West always seeming to invoke the incantation “The President of the Republic…” in every speech he uttered.

Experience, though, teaches that promises of LRC Prime Ministers or other politicians are rarely to be taken seriously as they are understood not to commit their government in anyway.

Additionally to this conventional wisdom, Mr Ngute’s statements to “former Amba Boys” betrayed a certain simplicity which only reinforced this urge to ignore his utterances during this jamboree in the North West and later on the South West. For instance he called on the Amba Boys to accept their “mistake” in taking up arms and seek forgiveness from Mr Biya as he visited purported former Amba Boys in Bamenda. In the South West he judged it appropriate to condescend that Mr Biya, “their father”, would forgive the Amba Boys and that dialogue would be no-holds-barred – apart from secession. As he offered these balms, “his” governments military continued to kill and burn homes in the North West and South West, with the North West governor offering compensation for burnt homes, at one point.

While his condition on secession was not surprising from a LRC prime minister, given previous experience, it is “his” territorial administration minister’s follow-up statement that raised eye-brows. The latter declared that the dialogue would not be unconditional, but rather that the form of the state would not be under consideration. This would tally with the theory of a “mistake” by the Amba Boys in taking arms to fight for change – but only very tenuously.

Mr Nji’s statement reflects Mr Biya’s position even before he declared war and ordered the ongoing killings on the South West and North West villagers, and therefore, as it means no dialogue a more consistent LRC government position.

This shower of cold water for Mr Ngute is not new for LRC’s long list of Anglophone Prime Minsters who never managed, non of them, to hide their subordination to other ministers in “their” governments. The only shock this time is that even for Mr Atanga Nji, it is also the first time that one of those superior-to-the PM minsters is also an Anglophone.

The irony of Mr Ngute’s tour is that the local populace would seem to be more forth-coming in suggesting routes out of the impasse. He is, for instance, reported to have been told in an open audience that the anglophone prisoners needed to be released before any dialogue could be meaningful. The non-surprise is that his reply was that he would submit his findings to Mr Biya “for consideration”.

His report is likely to find itself in the same bin as the reports from previous tours – Musonge, Yang, Ghoghomo…

The tour was not needed for what it is going to achieve.

WHAT’S MIMI MEFO’S FATE?

By Ayah Paul Abine

Is Mimi Mefo on bail? Is the case against her on course (to continue)?

Those have been interesting issues that have been raised since her release yesterday? Some CPDM lawyer and lay bigots were quick to describe her release as a presidential act of magnanimity; and they were assertive that the proceeding against her shall continue to the end. A good many interested as disinterested members of the public sought to know whether bail can be granted on a Saturday…

One should begin by congratulating Mimi’s defence team – Tamfu Esq, Madam Alice Nkom etc – for their commitment and legal prowess. At the end, however, the legal team was uncertain about the nature of their client’s release and whether criminal proceedings had been discontinued.

On my part, my little reading of the law and practice do not conjure up any express legal provision that bail can be granted on a Saturday. But by reasoning a contrario, it CANNOT, by necessary implications. Firstly, the business of the court is limited to working days. Saturday not being a working day, bail cannot legally and regularly be granted on such a day.

Again, by providing that no suspect should be taken into custody on a Saturday, the Criminal Procedure Code is telling, in effect, that, as bail is not possible on that day, custody, its antonym, shouldn’t be either. The symbol of justice being a balance, there cannot be one scale without the other. And the code is explicit that nonobservance of such of its provisions renders the process null and void.

Also does the law grant in the alternative the prerogatives of granting bail and that of remanding into custody: it is either the one or the other. I cannot bring my mind to any law that permits a judge to remand into custody in the morning and grant bail in the evening of his own volition in respect of the same party. If bail is denied by the lower court (including the State Counsel’s Chambers), for instance, the party applies for bail to the High Court. The lower court has no legal power to go forward and backwards: rule and overrule its own ruling.

And where a party is represented by a lawyer, every aspect of the proceeding must be done in the presence of the lawyer. If otherwise, the process is null and void as it is interpreted that the party has not been heard.

What, then, is the nature of Mimi Mefo’s release ? We have already indicated that even her lawyers don’t appear to be in the know. What I know, though, is that, at that level of the process, any release outside of bail can only be by a nolle prosequi. The only person competent to file a nolle is the Procureur General having territorial jurisdiction; or the ‘commissaire du Gouvernement’. A nolle must, however, be in writing and argued by the parties. The person filing the nolle must first be authorise in writing by the competent minister (Justice or Defence). I repeat ‘competent minister’!

For all that has been my lot to read, the President of the Republic has no power to issue a nolle (by decree); or order the release of the suspect/defendant/accused. It is possible he has some such similar power in respect of political ‘prisoners’; but NOT in the judiciary! The action by the President of the Republic in this case, (though hailed by his party’s bigots and lawyers), is not covered by any law; and it can only lead to the conclusion that Mimi was held as a political prisoner.

Be the case as it may, what is the fate of her case ? If it was a release consequent upon a nolle, the action is automatically and immediately discontinued, without the court reserving the right to ask any question. That does not, however, bar subsequent proceeding on the same facts. But as already pointed out, it was not a nolle.

As it was not bail either, it is quite difficult to be very assertive at law. What is clear though is that Mimi was not properly before the ‘Commissaire du Gouvernement’ at the very beginning for want of jurisdiction. All that the military officer did was consequently null and void. Subsequently getting her out of the mess by the act of the very officer is of no legal consequence: it was a remorseful act of repentance in mitigation of potential legal proceeding on false imprisonment against the officer in question. It does not have the effect of legalizing the illegality committed ab initio.

If Mimi is to appear before the ’Commissaire du Gouvernement’ for some other offence within his jurisdiction, she has to be served afresh in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. In short, nothing binds Mimi to appear before the officer tomorrow or before any court whatsoever in respect of the previous proceedings which are, for all intents and purposes, null and void!

All that has been said above is mere intellectual exercise since the military spokesman has declared that Mimi was released on the order of the President of the Republic; and that the said president has ordered the discontinuance of the proceeding. It does not fall to me to query whether the military spokesman also speaks for the military court. One may only rightly wonder, however, whether the President of the Republic as the Supreme Commander is a member of the military court; or whether he constitutes a higher military court with the power to overrule the lower military court. If otherwise, on what law was the President’s order(s) based?

The question appears to have no merits fundamentally. As Mimi was not properly before any competent court, and was therefore only under false imprisonment, whether the President’s act is legal or otherwise has no bearing against her ‘release’. In fact, she has only been liberated from captivity. Nor can there be any illegality in resorting to illegality to put an end to illegality!

All in all, Mr. President’s action is only consistent with the absence of the separation of powers in Camerouoon; and with the fact that all the three powers are concentrated in the hands of an individual. It is suggestive that the law has no binding effect in the country; and that justice NEVER can be done to an ordinary citizen who does not have the necessary popularity, or is not in a position to command the hue and cry from the members of the public (the masses)!

Anyway, for Mimi, all is well that ends well!

THE PRESENT CASE IS OVER!

GLORY TO GOD ON HIGH!”

Prayers from the Ground

This is an insight into the views of people living the “crisis”.

MORNING MEDITATION
SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS
TEXT: GENESIS 2:1-3
THEME: TRY TO REST
Dear friends in Christ Jesus good morning blessings. It’s another dawn. It’s another day. It’s another week. For us back home this week is full of anxiety and fear but Jesus Christ is in our boats, Amen.
Our focus this week is on the continent of Africa. All our faithful followers of morning Showers of blessings meditations in other parts of Africa we salute you. Whether you are in West, East, Central, North or Southern Africa, we send you very special fraternal greetings from us here in the troubled triangle nation of West Africa. We hope to hear from you soonest. Share this week’s meditations to your contacts who are in other parts of Africa so that they can get connected. I salute all those who are already connected. May God richly bless you.
Today we will talk about rest. Our text says God worked for six days and rested on the seventh day and then he made it Holy as sabbath consecrated to him. The original sabbath day was Saturday which was later on transferred to Sunday which was the resurrection Sunday. This is the day reserved by the Christian Church as a day of rest set aside to worship the Lord. In some pure African societies like those of us from the North West Region of our country, we have an additional day of rest called “Country Sunday”. On this day nobody is expected to go to the farm or pick up a matchet to cut anything in the name of work. Villagers are expected to rest and can do visitations. It’s unfortunately that we have another “Country Sunday” imposed on us every Monday as a result of this ongoing war in our country. Some people call it “Extended Sunday”. But it’s unfortunate that in such a day we can neither step out of our homes for the fear of bullets from the unknown. We have become perpetual prisoners in our own home town. We now have compulsory resting days. Night curfews have also been put in place which makes rest actively present in our country. WE ARE RESTING BY FORCE. Wonders shall never end.
But while these days of rest are imposed on us, what about those of you who are out of the current zone and in others countries. Some of you have to do two or three jobs just to survive or to be able to raise enough money for your families back home. Sometimes you sleep just about four or five hours out of the eight hours recommended by health experts. The scripture says that you need rest and that even God who created you also rested. Your body need rest to be able to function well. You need to feed the body that works the money. Take a vacation. Workers should ask and take their leave. Find time to relax and relate with your family and loved ones.
Can pastors go on leave? Should they rest? Can they really rest? When you call a pastor on phone and he/she says he is resting or on leave, what will easily be your reaction? Should I rest for one week or one month without sending you morning showers of blessings meditations as a way of resting?
I am just thinking aloud and about you resting and me resting as well. God will help us.
Let us pray.
PRAYER: Lord grant me internal rest from the pains of this life even when I am not able to rest from the physical but give me Grace to seek and to have both, in the name of Jesus Christ we have prayed Amen.