But hostile to freedom of Mancho and 23 others!
What then was the raison d’etre of fusing the cases?
The fusion of the case of
the detained leaders of the banned Consortium and that of Mancho Bibixy who led
what has become known as the “Coffin Revolution” together with 25 others by the
Yaounde Military Court gave hope that these leaders of the Anglophone struggle
would be given a joint pardon or release should the need arise.
But the proceedings of
the last trial in Yaounde last Wednesday appeared to have dashed that hope.
In what was seen as
double standards, the Yaounde Military Tribunal announced it was going to look
only into the issue of bail for Agbor Balla and Fontem during the next hearing
billed for 7 June, but declined bail for Mancho Bibixy and the others.
At the start of the
hearing, Colonel Abega Mbezoa, the government commissioner (prosecutor) said he was
not “hostile” to a provisional release for Balla and Fontem that is accompanied
by placement under judicial supervision. “The Public Prosecutor is not opposed
to the putting under judicial supervision” of Felix Agbor Nkongho and Neba
Fontem Aforteka’a, said the government commissioner, media reports noted.
The same prosecutor
rejected same bail terms for the other 25 accused.
Dr. Fontem Neba |
Observers questioned the
raison d’etre behind fusing the two cases then turn round to give ‘preferential
treatment’ only to the Consortium duo. But government apologists said it made
sense, given that the duo had identifiable residences and so could turn up when
needed. It was not the same case for the 25 others, they argued.
Judicial supervision
means that the two leaders are released from prison but are “bound by a number
of obligations that the court will determine,” Claude Assira, one of the
lawyers, told AFP.
The prosecution argued
that any decision to release the duo on bail should be accompanied by measures
that prohibit them from leaving the country including a monetary deposit. The
judges then adjourned the trial until June 7, when they will rule on the
request for bail.
Agbor Balla, a lawyer,
and Neba Fontem, a university professor, are the main protagonists of the
Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society consortium (CACSC), banned in January by the
authorities after they called for strikes in English-speaking areas of the
country against marginalization charges.
The case which first came
up for hearing February 13 was later adjourned to March 23rd and after that was
again adjourned to April 27th and later to May 24th. The latest adjournment is
for June 7, making it the 5th time it is consecutively being adjourned.
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