Continental Recognition:

Agbor Balla Appointed President of AFBA Human Rights Committee

By Boris Esono in Buea

Bar. Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla is the new president of the African Bar
Association’s Committee on Human Rights, Rule of Law and Good Governance

Cameroon’s indefatigeable Human Rights Crusader, Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla, has added another red feather to his already crowded crown. The 48-year-old former legal consultant with the UNO has been designated to head the Committee on Human Rights, Rule of Law and Good Governance of the African Bar Association, AFBA.

            Balla was appointed during a working visit of the AFBA executive committe in Kenya. The visit saw the AFBA exco members holding talks with the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya, Chief Justice David Maraga, who is reputed to have created history by annulling the August presidential election in his country, something which was the first of its kind in Africa.

            In a chat with reporters upon arriving Buea from Nairobi, Kenya, Barrister Agbor Balla said “it is an honor to serve the African Bar in particular and the African continent in general. The protection and promotion of human rights is very close to my heart. The appointment is an opportunity to continue to contribute towards an Africa where human rights will be respected in each and every country”.

            He equally pledged to fight for the the respect of the rule of law and good governance in African countries.

            Nkongho Felix Agbor-Bala is also the African Bar Association (AFBA) Vice President for Central Africa; President of Fako Lawyers Association (FAKLA) and erstwhile president of the now outlawed Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) that gave the government sleepless nights in the heat of the ongoing Anglophone crisis.

            As the Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), the very widely travelled Barrister has remained unrepentant about his fight for the rights of Anglophones in Cameroon.  He played a leading role in organizing non-violent civil disobedience to protest poor conditions in schools and courts in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

            He was arrested, charged with terrorism and jailed for 8 months for his alleged leading role in the ongoing Anglophone crisis. He was later released thanks to a nolle prosequi. 

            Since regaining his freedom, Balla has remained a strong advocate for human rights, justice and equity. He has continued fighting for the release of all those still in   jail in connection to the present socio-political crisis in the Anglophone regions.

            He advocates the creation of a federation of two states of equal status as the only solution to the ongoing crisis in Anglophone Cameroon. It behooves this newspaper to hail the globe-troting Barrister for his tireless service to humanity.