Southern Cameroons

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Southern Cameroons

Barrister Bobga Harmony is President of the North West Lawyers Association, NOWELA. He is one of the Lawyers who articulates very well the grievances of the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers and has been given the name 'General' in the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers Conference. According to him only the restoration of Southern Cameroon, can solve the grievances of West Cameroon. He spoke to THE SUN’s Daniela Neba Ngum at the sidelines of the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers Conference in Kumba

What brought Lawyers to Kumba at this period when Common Law Lawyers have been on Strike for four months?
We have come here to validate the creation of a Cameroon Common Law Bar. We have set up a bureau for this Bar, in order for it to go operational and be a platform for canvassing the issues that confront the lawyers, in collaboration with the consortium that regroups not just lawyers but people of other trades in life. And, together we are going to be fighting both from a professional angle and a general angle, to ensure that the restoration of the cherished values of the Southern Cameroonian is secured. We as gentlemen, we do intend to remain open to dialogue but we are not going to sacrifice one inch of our position because we have had endorsement from the community. This has put us in a position of leadership for the entire Southern Cameroon community. We are committed to delivering and with God on our side we are sure to deliver.

What is your impression on the presence of Minister Garga Haman?
Let me say the lawyers did not come here to have an open meeting; they came here to have a purely professional meeting. On my own personal account and I believe it is the view of many lawyers as well, Mr. Garga as an individual we have no problem with him. However, the fact that the President of the Republic can meet the former minister in a cocktail at the Unity Palace and tell him to come see us without any written mandate, is reinforcing the insults on Southern Cameroonians. It goes to show that we are just some disposable tissue that he can get just any one to come and talk to us anytime. It also despises and minimizes the Prime Minister, Head of Government and who had been mandated, and actually came out with a Prime Ministerial order, to set up an adhoc committee commission. This transaction between the President of the Republic and the former minister is gross disrespect on Southern Cameroonians, whether we look it from the perspective of the Prime Minister or us the lawyers. We assure you, God is in control. I believe that all these errors that Mr. Biya is making are ordained from heaven and we embrace it and pray that more errors must be made, to prove to the world that they do not take us seriously so the world should because we are acting on the foundation of truth.

What are some of the values which you think the Southern Cameroonians will not sacrifice?
It is not me thinking all Cameroonians want that the Common Law System be restored. When I talk about the system; our courts should be manned and run by the Magistrate who are trained in the Common Law; the lawyers of the Common Law should not just belong in a Common Law Bar and lose their identity like a cube of sugar in a bucket of water, which we have turned around and say that there has been proper respect and recognition of the Southern Cameroonian. We believe that we are really bending over to negotiate for a federal foundation for our co-existence and this is even a middle course because if we apply legality, it is the question of restoring the independent statehood of Southern Cameroon. That is, by bringing the British government and the government of La Republic du Cameroun as people who perpetuated a continuous trespass on the territory of the State of Southern Cameroon. Under UN resolution 1608…the territory of Southern Cameroon was handed to Britain to build up into an independent nation and the British Ambassador to newly independent Cameroon, without clearance from the West Cameroon House of Assembly handed over on September 30, 1961, the sovereignty of Southern Cameroon to the President La Republic du Cameroun Late Amadou Adhijo. On the 1st of October, 1961, when we were all saying we are independent, we did not have any sovereignty to back our claim to independence; we had already been traded as slaves.

Where will the Common Law Bar be affiliated to?
As a transitional measure we are ascertained ourselves within the status quo and because we are also perusing the Federation Option which if they reject, we will fall back to the restoration of our independent statehood. At that time, there will be an enabling law on legal practice, which will be the basis of the Common Law Bar. There is something that happens with legality, when you acquire legitimacy that legitimacy readily transforms into legality. Hence, if you are working on the truth and we are operating on the truth of the law constitutionally and we have put a matter in the constitutional counsel, that they should show us the Act of Union. In the absence of that Act of Union, we are legal and legitimate because our population has supported us and saying we are right to have researched and brought forth the truth.

The Sun

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Rita Akana

20.Jan.2017

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