Secretariat of Defence, Yaounde:

AkereMuna charged with terrorism, secession, insurrection

But the lawyer of international acclaim and repute says he is not guilty of wrongdoing. Akere says he is ready to face whatever awaits him come what may. He was interrogated at the SED on Friday

By Essan-Ekoninyam in Yaounde

Barrister AkereMuna, now a terrorist?

Former Cameroon Bar President and Internationally acclaimed lawyer and anti-corruption crusader, Barrister AkereMuna has said that his conscience is his judge and he believes he is not guilty of wrongdoing.

                Barrister Muna made the remarks in a statement he issued following his in interrogation at the National Gendarmerie Headquarters in Yaounde, on Friday 24 March 2017.

                The legal luminary had been summoned by authorities at the SED, to come for questioning on Wednesday 22 March 2017. But because of professional imperatives, the highly respected legal mind only availed himself on Friday, 24 March 2017.

                AkereMuna issued the following statement after his hours-long audience with the interrogators at the SED.

                “On March 20, 2017, I received a summons requiring that I show up to the National Defense Secretarial, SED, on Wednesday, 23 March 2017. Due to a prior commitment I informed the SED of my intention to fulfill my professional commitments in South Africa on that day, offering instead to have the hearing on the morning of Friday, March 24.

                I was accompanied to SED on Friday morning by the President of the Cameroon Bar Association, as well as four former presidents of the Bar and many members of the Bar Council. On arrival, I found over a hundred lawyers waiting outside. They waited patiently outside while I was being heard by a Lieutenant of the gendarmerie. These were the charges that were levied against me:

-              Hostility toward the homeland

-              Advocating terrorism

-              Secession

-              Revolution

-              Insurrection

-              Compromising the security of the state

                These charges it would seem stemmed from the content of articles that I had published in the “Le Jour” daily newspaper. The first article appeared on December 19, 2016, entitled “The Inevitable Nature of change” in which I examine the futility of resisting change. The second appeared on January 10, 2017, entitled “Cameroon is one and indivisible: which Cameroon?” in which I discuss the questions of unity that plaque our country.

                The investigation, I was informed, was opened at the request of the commissioner of government at the military tribunal. I responded to all the questions asked truthfully, reaffirming my convictions and standing behind the words I wrote in those articles. After a few hours I was allowed to leave the gendarmerie. The report of the investigation will be transmitted to the commissioner of government.

                I am grateful for the outpour of kindness and support that I received from well-wishers both online and off. To those who, fearing for my safety, encouraged me to stay away from Cameroon, I say thank you for your concern, but my conscience is my judge and I believe am not guilty of wrongdoing. I love my country and I will always speak up in the interest of a better tomorrow.”

                In an earlier statement he issued on 21 March, shortly after he recieved the summons from the SED, AkereMuna said: “I understand the worry of many well-wishers who are asking me to stay away. Cameroon is my home and I am prepared to face whatever awaits me. Any lawyer who is worth anything cannot sit by in the face of suffering and blatant violation of the basic and fundamental rights of any other human being. By remaining sheep for too long, I am afraid we have turned some people in our government into emboldened wolves…”

                It is intriguing that against popular fears that he would be caged at the SED like all others who have been arraigned in connection to the Anglophone crisis, Akere was allowed to drive back to the comfort of his plush residence at Bastos. But that is not to say that the matter is all over, we understand.

                Akere may be called back for further questioning whenever the commissioner of government at the military tribunal deems it necessary. But until that happens he will continue to go about his business freely.