Police officers accused of usurping powers of legal Department and courts.

President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Justice Bechem Eneke- State Counsel for Muyuka Madame Mkamgoh Rose Epoue Nkamanyi- Attornney General Essombe Emille

The President of the Court of Appeal in Buea, Chief Justice Bechem Eneke has accused police officers of usurping the powers of the Legal Department and that of the Courts. He was speaking on Friday, September 4, during a special session at the Muyuka Court of First Instance which saw Madame Nkamngoh Rose Epouse Nkamanyi being installed as the State Counsel of the Muyuka Judicial Sub Division.

One of the highlights of this installation ceremony was the paper presented by Chief Justice Bechem Eneke focusing on Judicial Delays. Such delays the Chief Justice said had touches of infringement on the rights of people. Referring to the UN Charters on Human Rights as well as African Charters on Human Rights he drew attention to the fact that both these charters touch on the rights of people to a fair hearing and defense.

Justice in Cameroon he said was not yet fairly and speedily done. The reason behind these delays he said comes from flaws in the pre-trial and trial processes. With investigations carried out by the judicial police under the supervision of the State Counsel, things should always move on smoothly he said.

He however complained that Police officers had transformed their offices into temporary cells thus usurping the powers of the legal Department and that of the courts. This phenomenon which is enhanced by illegal arrests and detention he said should be stopped. Insinuated here was the fact that Madame Ngamngoh Rose Epouse Nkamanyi was going to go a long way to bring this situation to an end. In the search for justice he said, there is the need for a change of attitude.

The Attorney General of the Southwest Region Chief Justice Essombe Emille on his part presented a brief and rich Biography of the new state counsel for Muyuka. Madame Nkamngoh Rose Epouse Nkamanyi according to his presentation was born in Akum in 1968. After Basic Education she moved to the Comprehensive High School CHS Bambui in the Tubah Municipality where she obtained both the GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels in 1984 and 1987 respectively. She eventually obtained a Bachelor Degree in Law ( Licence en Droit) in 1991 and a Post Graduate Diploma known in French as Maitrise before moving into the National Institute of Administration and Magistracy known in its French acronym as ENAM. After graduating from ENAM in 2001, she worked in Edea between 2001 and 2004 before moving over to Tiko where she worked as Deputy State Counsel. In 2010 she was called to the bench as Judge of the Court of First Instance in Tiko from where she was moved to Muyuka.

As the best way forward at this time when Cameroon and her neighbours are faced by threats of insecurity, the Attorney General said there should be collaboration between the administration and the judiciary. He equally proposed a direct relationship between the law and the preservation of people and their property and the society as a whole. As such, he said, freedom and security will be guaranteed for all citizens who subject themselves to the laws governing the state."The State Counsel should stand up to make sure that justice is applied to whoever. Irrespective of his height, riches and poverty, he is expected to be treated fairly and within the confines of the law.”

Meantime, the newly installed State Counsel explained that she’d been in Muyuka just for a couple of months and that her greatest challenge came from the fact that she was taking over from a man. “The cosmopolitan population took me as a woman since they feel that such a position should be occupied by a man. The humility in me brought them around and they saw that it is the rule of the law that must prevail. The team that is in place is very ready to help the population and all they need is collaboration. I have put in place a couple of measures to correlate the relationship between the Judicial Corp and the Administration. When I take a decision I think of the DO and consult him. The reverse should be true. So we work like a family.

A self effacing individual, the Chief Court Registrar Ngome George of the Muyuka Court who was in the heart of most of the activities that took place summed it up in the following manner; “It was a very colourful one. We put in a lot of effort to come out with the resounding success that we’ve had here today. There is heavy recruitment into the judiciary this time around. I want to think of Magistrates, Bailiffs, Court Registrars, Lawyers, notaries public among others. This is all an attempt to improve upon the quality of services in the sector. The ceremony of today was ordained by the laws organizing magistracy stipulating that they have to sworn in before taking over their functions. I think it was in keeping with   tradition and the texts regulating Magistracy in Cameroon.

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