The Chia Report

Decentralization and Minority Rights in Cameroon

By Julius Nyamkimah Fondong

It is exactly thirteen years to day (night of the 27th breaking the 28th of March 1997) when a band of young men belonging to the Southern Cameroon’s National Council (SCNC), in an act of near fiendish military bravura, launched a series of attacks in Elak, headquarters of Oku Subdivision.  The Divisional Officer, the Gendarmerie Brigade Commandant and all six gendarmes serving in the subdivision at the time were captured and incarcerated for 15 hours. The insurgents later made away with six automatic assault rifles and about forty-five rounds of ammunition before razing the brigade to the ground.  Before the year ran out, Oku Subdivision would again be caught up in another ferocious inter-ethnic dispute with its Din neighbours, this time around over the right to control and exploit the rich farmlands of Balu

Sick Medical Profession Despised by African Leaders

By Innocent Chia
You still remember that ailing President Yar’Adua of Nigeria just returned from three months of hospitalization in Saudi Arabia. You also have not forgotten that President Omar Bongo died last year 2009 in Barcelona, Spain...That the late President Boigny of Cote d’Ivoire was rushed home from France almost a vegetable to die in his palace in Yamoussokro. Cameroonians are well too familiar with the countless times that Biya has been rumored dead while he was in one of the hospitals in Geneva or Paris or wherever. I bet, you too have been wondering whether the MDs back home are only good for the poor masses and our leaders too precious for the facilities that serve the taxpayer on whose dime they are getting treated in Europe or America? If yes, why?

Dipanda Mouelle and the Judicial Independence Conundrum

By: Julius Nyamkimah Fondong*

During the recent solemn opening of the judicial year in Cameroon, Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Honorable Alexis Dipanda Mouelle took advantage of the occasion to again raise the issue of the independence of judges in Cameroon. The Honorable president of the court pontificated that the independence of judges was an essential prerequisite for the dispensation of “quality justice”. And for this to be attained judges must be free of all pressure, especially financial, political and social pressures.  The Chief Justice further lamented the numerous ills that plaque Cameroon’s judiciary, to wit, long delays, its irrational organization, its inaccessibility, the frequent use of “esoteric language”, prohibitive costs, lack of transparency, multiple adjournments, protracted litigations etc. 

 
This comprehensive laundry list compels one to concede that the Honorable President of the Supreme Court exudes total mastery of his subject matter. He himself wears the shoes and so stands a better chance of knowing where it pinches. But the fact is that there is really nothing new in what Chief Justice Dipanda is saying.  It is a situation well known to the nation.

Reading the Mind of Cameroon's Soccer Coach Paul Le Guen

By Innocent Chia
If he decided to quit his job this minute as head coach of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Paul Le Guen would have reason to say that he succeeded in the dual mission that he was assigned: He beat a stack of odds by qualifying the team for the Angola 2010 African Cup of Nations and simultaneously qualifying for the historic 2010 World Cup that South Africa will be hosting this summer. But his team has been far from indomitable. An esteemed senior colleague of mine, the brazen Jean Lambert Nang had gone as far as opining that Le Guen’s resume was too pale and his experience paltry for the team.  That notwithstanding, Le Guen has been making some pretty telling strategic moves in a manner that is revealing of someone who is mindful of the storied past of the Lions.

Constitutional Quagmires in Niger and Nigeria: Same Shit Different Toilets…

By Innocent Chia

Sickness is not a bad thing at all. At least, it is one of the greatest takeaway lessons and gifts from the ailing President of Nigeria, Yaradua to students of Constitutional law, political observers and other commentators in Africa. President Yar’Adua’s debilitated sojourn in Saudi Arabia and recent return – 23rd November 2009 to 25th February, 2010 – confirms why law maker and politician stand steadfastly behind patently inexplicit pieces of law. In this piece The Chiareport clues-in on the source of vagueness.
Also, we explore why February’s coup d’Etat ousting President Mamadou Tandja of Niger has to be seen as the legacy of choice by leaders who want to eternalize themselves in power. The obvious argument here is that there would have been no coup if the President had respected the constitution in the first place.