In view of up coming Bar Elections

 Bar Tang Emmanuel & Bar Ajong Stanislaus

SW lawyers urge Sama Francis and Tang Emmanuel to stay on
-Urge their colleagues of other regions to follow suit, for the consolidation of the landmark achievements of Bartonnier Sama and President Tang
-Bar General assembly meeting billed for Buea in November
These were the take home from a General Assembly meeting of the Fako Lawyers Association FAKLA that took place on Saturday, 27 September 2014 in Muyuka. It had in attendance some senior members of the Bar Association including notably the Bar Assembly President, Senior Barrister Emmanuel Tang and the Bar Council Treasurer, Barrister Billigha amongst others. Lawyers of The Meme Lawyers association, MELA were also present.
By Sarah Nkongho Ojong in Muyuka
The Muyuka conclave of FAKLA had very pertinent issues to address top-most amongst which was the role of FAKLA in view of the upcoming Bar General Assembly Meeting to elect new executives to run the Bar Council; and the imminent visit of FAKLA to Bamenda, to meet and concert with members of the North West Lawyers Association, NOWELA so as to harness a common position as lawyers of the common law extraction before the elective general assembly meeting of the Bar sometime in November 2014.

    Other issues raised during the meeting as reiterated by the FAKLA President, Barrister Ajong Stanislaus had to do with the true reflection of lawyers as law abiding citizens especially considering their function as law reinforcement agents and advisers involved in administration and reinforcement of laws in society. “How can a lawyer be a law breaker?” wondered the FAKLA President, as he exhorted his colleagues to respect the ethics of the learned and respected profession in and out of the courts and to avoid causing unnecessary harm to others simply because of their legal status.
    The meeting was attended among others by a host of BAR executives- the General Assembly President, Senior Barrister Tang Emmanuel; the Bar Council Treasurer, Barrister Joseph-Claude Billigha; Representatives of the Bar Council President (the Bartonier) in the Littoral and Southwest regions, Barristers Tchaounte Papie and Njualem Charles respectively; the president of the Organizing Committee of the Bar General Assembly and director of protocol of the Cameroon Bar, Barrister Sichui John Kameni; members of the Meme Lawyers association (MELA), and a host of lawyers in Fako.
    Speaking to the press, the Bar General Assembly President, Barrister Tang expressed joy and satisfaction working with Fako lawyers and lauded them for the wonderful organization of the last general assembly meeting that took place in Buea in June 2014. Maitre Tang described the June conclave as a historic and landmark achievement of the Bar association because for once all the lawyers stood like one man against the appointment of notaries public in the NW and SW regions.
    Because of this landmark achievement, Barrister Tang Emmanuel in his capacity as President of the General assembly, has given FAKLA the singular privilege to host the next Bar General Assembly meeting that will take place in Buea, on a date yet to be announced in November 2014.
    It is worthy to note that the Buea GA of last June 2014 was the first non-elective general assembly meeting that ever took place in more than 15 years. It is hoped that the GAs that has been billed for November will go a long way to strengthen the dynamism and solidarity that reigns among Southwest lawyers in general.
    However, it should be noted that the presence of top officials of the Bar in the GA meeting of a divisional body like FAKLA has suspicion among some legal minds out of the SW, with some already suspecting “a hidden political agenda” by the so called inner caucus of the Bar Association especially giving that elections are around the corner.
    The Median gathered that over the years Fako lawyers in particular and South West in general have proven to be the “attractive and appetizing zone that must be seduced by potential Bar Council Presidents not only because of their wonderful organization and discipline, but also because of their numerical strength, counting over 400 lawyers. 
    According to the Batonier’s representative in the Southwest region, Barrister Njualem Charles, the main difficulty faced by the Bar as far as the organization of General assemblies are concerned has always been that of getting an adequate hall to host the entire body of Cameroon lawyers. Meanwhile, he assured the press that the elections have been scheduled for December, 4, 2014 in Yaounde. He seized the opportunity to hammer on some points regarding decorum in and out of the court, looking at the lawyer/client and lawyer/magistrate relationships, which have more often been surrounded by criticisms from the public. He called on lawyers to be decorous henceforth. He reminded lawyers that as agents of the protection of the rights of citizens they are naturally bound to respect the law. “There are some professional misdeeds which are unacceptable, for example a lawyer who insists on having a sexual affair with his or her client can be sanctioned even with disbarment from the Bar association,” he said.
    For his part the Bar Treasurer Barrister J.C. Billigha urged all lawyers to pay their Bar dues, especially as the land for the erection of the permanent headquarters for the Bar has already been secured. He said it brings dishonor to lawyers that they cannot own a venue to host them during events like the general assembly meeting and elections.
    The Bar results was also discussed with Barrister Tchaounte Papie of the Littoral on behalf of the Battonier, Sama Francis, assuring concerned candidates that in two weeks at the most the results will be published.
    The internal regulations of the Bar were shared out to candidates awaiting results to enable them acquaint themselves with ethics of the profession before being sworn in.
    FAKLA awarded certificates of acknowledgement to Batonier Sama Francis and Bar GA president Tang Emmanuel in recognition for their meritorious landmark achievements and accomplishments at the head of the two major organs of the Cameroon Bar.