Rejected by Anglophones:

Gov’t Caves In, Withdraws Bill on Bilingualism

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Barr. Akere Muna

Government has temporary withdrawn a bill submitted in parliament for debate with aim to promote the two official languages of the country. The bill was withdrawn following pressure from Common Law Lawyers, members of the civil society and some lawmakers. The bill was sneakily dropped aside as Common Law Lawyers threatened to embark on another peaceful street protest.

                The bill according to Common Law Lawyers if adopted will reduce to zero all the efforts Anglophones have made since 2016 to protect the Anglo-Saxon heritage from complete extinction in a French-dominant country.

                According to section 26 (1) and (2) of the bill states either English or French shall be used before ordinary law and special courts and court decisions shall be rendered in either of the official languages. This section according to observers fails to recognise the historic specificities of the peoples of the Anglophone Regions.

                Though drafted by government in accordance with Article 1(3) of the constitution which states that the official languages of the Republic of Cameroon shall be English and French and ties with one of the recommendations of the recently organised Major National Dialogue which talks of promotion of both languages, many think the bill was ill drafted with intention of burying some Anglo-Saxon values.

                Barr. Akere Muna, former President of the Cameroon Bar Association Thursday, 5 December 2019, in his social media platform expressed shocked as to why someone will in the context of the ongoing situation in the Anglophone Regions choose to make bilingualism an option. “I cannot understand how any peace loving citizen given the present context can propose a bill that makes bilingualism an option, in blatant violation of the constitution! Talk about fuelling the fire! So, here we go again. Lawyers protest in Bamenda…”

                His outing came a day after Common Law Lawyers in the Northwest Region staged a peaceful demonstration, denouncing the draft bill on languages while their peers in Buea boycotted court sessions. Barrister Eric Mbah, representative of the Bar President in the Northwest Region told reporters after the demonstration in front of the Bamenda High Court that the bill is taking the country back to the 2016 when the Anglophone Crisis started.

                “We cannot stand by and see such an affront to justice go un-denounced. The Special Status envisaged for the two Anglophone Regions of the country made many to start thinking that it will give some recognition to the Common Law. Unfortunately, a draft bill of that nature is put in, thereby, taking us back to 2016 when the crisis all started. The genesis of the crisis was the fact that justice was not being delivered and the slogan is: Justice must not only be done, but manifestly seen to be done,” Mbah stated adding that they shall remain vigilante and not be scared about the blackmail and names that will be given them.