Who now controls the Bar?

Lawyers heed AgborBalla’s orders, shame Bar President

-Balla is requesting amnesty for lawyers in exile and the release of those in detention

By Nche Jude in Yaounde

Jackson NgnieKamga, ‘disgraced’ Bar President

A decision by the President of the Bar Council, Jackson NgnieKamga for striking Anglophone lawyers to adorn the wigs and gowns and return to the courts as from 2 May 2017, was ignored by the lawyers who stayed at their offices thus putting to question the authority of their President.  

                Media reports said the courts in Buea, Bamenda, Limbe, Kumba, Mamfe, Muyuka and Kumbo remained quiet and deserted for throughout 2 May, as has been the case ever since the lawyers began their sit-in strike on 21October 2016.

                The Bar President had announced that he had reached a deal with Senior Common Law Lawyers for the lawyers to resume work on 2 May 2017. In a communiqué he issued on April 3, Jackson NgniéKamga explained that the decision to resume activities was reached following 2 conclaves held on 18 March 2017 in Buea for the South West and 25 March 2017 in Bamenda in the North-West region.

                Jackson Kamga’s release immidiately sparked protests from his colleagues, with many saying the prerequisites for such return to work had not been met.

                Some few days after the announcement, members of the Common Law Lawyers’ Association issued a statement in which they stated that NgnieKamga did not have legitimacy to call off a strike which he was not the initiator. They said the only thing that could make them go back to court is the immediate and unconditional release of their leader, Barrister Nkongho Felix AgborBalla, the return of their colleagues in exile, apart from the satisfaction of the demands they raided before the start of the strike.

                Some lawyers who talked to The Median said they would not resume duty until AgborBalla who initiated the strike instructs them to do so. The lawyers said when they put the matter to Balla on the sidelines of the hearing of his case at the Military Tribunal, Balla told them to stay at home; that they should resume duty only if their colleagues in exile are allowed to return home and all those in detention are freed.

                It should be noted that the tough stance of the lawyers is in spite of ‘salutary measures’ already taken by government to resolve the present crisis in Anglophone Cameroon.