Buea General Assembly

Buea General Assembly:
1600 lawyers oppose appointment of notaries in NW and SW
By Sarah Nkongho Ojong in Buea

Cameroonian lawyers have overwhelmingly rejected the appointment of notaries public by government in the North West and South West regions, as a means towards protecting and maintaining the bi-jural character of practice of the law profession in the country.
    The lawyers took the unanimous decision during a General Assembly of the Cameroon Bar Association that held in Buea, South West region on Saturday 28 June 2014 and chaired by the Bar Association President Barrister Tang sitting alongside the Bar Council President, Sama Francis Asanga.
    1200 lawyers effectively answered present at the conclave while about 400 others participated by proxy.
    The major outcome of the sitting was the warning note that the lawyers sent to Yaounde authorities, praying them to drop any imminent plans to appoint notaries public in the North West and South West regions.
    The lawyers noted that two different legal systems operate in Cameroon: The French legal system operating in the Francophone regions of the country and the English common law system operating in the two Anglophone regions.

    In their strongly-worded resolutions after the conclave, the lawyers reminded the attorney general of Cameroon (the justice minister) that a lawyer in the common law practice system is called upon to perform the combined duties of solicitor, advocate and notary public.
    The lawyers therefore reminded their supervisory authority that any moves by the government to appoint notaries in the Anglophone regions of the country is not only preposterous but is inimical to and disregards and violates the principles enshrined in the English common law practice system which they swore on oath to respect and protect.
    An intriguing feature of the Buea conclave was the consensual and unanimous support that the fight put up essentially by Anglophone lawyers enjoyed from their Francophone colleagues.
    Many a lawyer who spoke to this reporter after the conclave said it was a milestone achievement for the Bar Council President, Sama Francis and the General Assembly President, Maitre Tang.
    The visibly elated lawyers observed that the presence of over 1200 lawyers sitting in the conference hall of the famous Chariot Hotel in Buea, was ocular proof of the popularity, effectiveness and pro-activeness of the Sama Francis – Maitre Tang team. They said it also portrays the advantages to the functioning of the Bar Association when the Bar Council President and the General Assembly president work in perfect symbiosis and collaboration.
    Apart from their stance on the appointment of notaries, the lawyers praised the near perfect organization of the Buea General Assembly and noted with satisfaction the recent organization and writing of the entrance examinations into the Bar Association which had been stalled for seven years.
    The men of the learned profession seized the occasion to hail the Bar President, Sama Francis Asanga for the acquisition of a befitting head-office for the Bar Association and the 200 million worth, well situated parcel of land in Yaounde for the imminent construction of a permanent Bar Headquarters and a Bar Hotel.
      “Batonier Sama is doing everything to give the Cameroonian lawyer his rightful place in society in terms of image and respect and we can only hail and support him in his very challenging but exalting mission,” quipped a discernibly satisfied Barrister Sichui John Kameni, whose active role in the successful organization of the Buea conclave was acknowledged and highly appreciated by both Batonier Sama Francis and Maitre Tang.