Military Tribunal:

Case against Anglophone leaders adjourned to August 31

-Prosecution witnesses unable to identify suspected terrorists

Bar. AgborBalla keeps beard in protest against solitary confinement

Hearing on the matter pitting Anglophone leaders, Barrister Felix AbgorBalla, Dr. FontemNeba, ManchoBibixy and twenty five (25) others against the state of Cameroon, will resume on 31 August 2017. The Judge of the Yaounde Military Tribunal adjourned hearing to this date, when she suspended court proceedings on Thursday 27 July.

                The last hearing of the matter Thursday, turned stormy and quite interesting when witnesses for the prosecution could not identify even one of the accused persons, except for the father of what is now known as the coffin revolution, ManchoBibixy.

                It was the first time the witnesses were appearing in court since the case opened in March 2017.

                The seven witnesses, all uniform officers, were presented to the court by the commissioner of government at the military tribunal.

                But when granted the opportunity to say what they new about the events in Bamenda, neither of the two witnesses could point at any of the 27 accused as persons who took part in the mob action that disrupted the CPDM rally of 8 December 2016 at the Bamenda commercial avenue.

                But this was not before Lead counsel for the defense, Barrister Ben Muna had wondered aloud why the state is sending its witnesses only now, and after the case has been going on for almost seven months now.

                The presiding judge, Colonel AbegaMbezoaEkoEko, upheld a motion by the councils for the state urging Hon. JospehMbahNdam, SDF Member of Parliament to withdraw from the defense panel of the defendants. The judge agued that MbahNdam’s status as MP of the nation does not permit him to hold brief against the same nation.

                A visibly dissatisfied but unruffled MbahNdam accepted to withdraw, but not before he had staged a futile protest against the motion.

                “I have been acting as one of the defense counsels in this case since it started seven months ago and neither the prosecution nor the presiding judge has ever opposed to my presence. It is intriguing that i am asked to leave only today. However, I will withdraw,” MbahNdam said.

                A major obstacle witnessed during the trial was the issue of language. The hired translator demonstrated very poor mastery of legal terms. Commentators in court expressed fears this could lead to a travesty of justice, as the detainees could be punished for crimes they never committed.

                Also, the trial judge just like the francophone lawyers and magistrates exhibited very approximate mastery of the new Criminal Procedure Code.. Matters of procedure like Examination-in-chief and Cross-Examination posed a problem to the Francophone legal practitioners. The poor mastery of the English language by both the judge and the Francophone lawyers of the prosecution desk is also not helping matters in the trial.

                “Francophone lawyers and Magistrates have a poor mastery of the criminal procedure code and they seem not to have the requisite background,” Barrister EtahBisong Junior regretted.

                Barrister AgborBalla who was imposed a solitary confinement since 7 July 2017 appeared in court wearing an unusual beard, apparently in protest to the decision by the authorities circumscribing him to a small cell and refusing him access to visitors. .

                ManchoBibixy, for his part, happily brandished his son who was brought to court.

                While gov’t continues to hold the Anglophones in detention, and as the case drags in court, well-meaning individuals and organizations have not stopped calling for their unconditional release and for government to engage meaningful dialogue to bring an end to the political tensions in the NW and SW.

                The latest of such calls was made July 26 by the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, REDHAC.

                The detainees are facing charges of acts of terrorism, hostility against the state, secession, revolution, propagation of false news and collective rebellion.