No Dignified Burial of Covid-19 Corpses?

Barrister Sama Francis Buried in Soa, Y’de

-Pamol Deputy GM, Chief Assanga, also buried in public cemetery in Douala

Barrister Francis Sama

The Legal Adviser of the SDF party, Barrister Sama Francis Asanga, who died early on Monday morning, has been buried. He was buried the same Monday morning, 8 June, at the Nkolfoulou (Soa Road) residence of the SDF National Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi.

                A former president of the Cameroon Bar Council, Barrister Sama was interred hours after he died at a local clinic in Yaoundé where he was being treated since Saturday, 6 June 2020, according to family accounts.

                Center Regional Governor, Naseri Paul Bea, granted a special authorization for Barrister Atangana Bikouna Claire, the representative of the Bar President for the Center, South and East to transport Barrister Sama’s remains from Yaoundé to Soa in the Mefou and Afamba Division.

                The late Barrister Sama was given honors by his peers at the hospital where he died. Barrister Luke Kisob regrets that the deceased had to be buried the same day due to the circumstances surrounding his demise.

                A seasoned man of laws, Barrister Sama would be remembered for his fight for the institution of the rule of law and democracy in Cameroon.

                A graduate of the Yaounde University, he created the Sama Law Firm in 1985 and died after over 35 years of legal practice to his credit.

                The 62-year-old was elected President of the Cameroon Bar on 14 August 2012.

                For his over two years as Bar President, he left behind an arguably impressive legacy. Sama, maintained at the end of his mandate in February 2015 that for the over two years, “the Bar has grown with leaps and bounds.”

                He would be remembered for hiring a befitting office for the Bar and for acquiring a vast parcel of land for the construction of an ultra-modern Bar Headquarters in Yaoundé. Bartonnier Sama also hosted the Pan African Lawyers’ Union in Yaoundé with erstwhile South African President, Thabo Mbeki, as a special guest. He also introduced continuous training of lawyers by the Bar Council.

                The celebrated lawyer dies without seeing the creation of a Law School in Cameroon, a project he labored for during his time. He was a founding member of the SDF and represented the party in court on several occasions.

                “For about 35years you walked the corridors of Courts of law in Cameroon and beyond. You trained scores of generations of jurists and particularly lawyers. You fought for multi-party politics alongside other heroes. You were fearless whenever you had to submit either for the plaintiff /civil party or defendant /accused person, ”said Barrister Valeri Teffo in a tribute to the late Barrister Sama.

             

Barrister Sama Francis buried at Fru Ndi’s residence at Nkolfoulou, Yaounde, on Monday night

   “You were at the center of very many huge cases that have rocked the judiciary: John Kohtem’s murder, The Allo Allo case, the Clement Ngwasiri vs SDF case, myriad electoral disputes just to name a few! You “terrorized” your opponents! You were a hardliner as far as the defense of the orphan and the widow was concerned. You never ceased to humorously, albeit firmly, reminds some judges that before they were born you had already been a Lawyer.”

                In a related development, the deputy GM of Pamol Plantations PLC, Chief Assanga Aloysius, who also died in Douala, in the early morning of Monday 8 June, was buried the same Monday morning at the Njo-Njo cemetery in Akwa Douala.

                Chief Assanga’s remains could not be ferried to Limbe, for burial in his private residence. This was in spite of efforts by the Manyu political leader, Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency, Victor Mengot Arrey Nkongho, for the medical and administrative authorities in Littoral to allow Chief Assanga’s body to be possibly taken to Limbe for burial.

                The administration evoked tremendous risk involved in transporting the corpse from Douala to Limbe.