Four Days of Politicking to Appoint Bar Council President

From August 11th to 14th, Bamenda kept the country in suspense.

It was not an easy task for the lawyers to elect the new president of the Bar council. The elective general assembly that was scheduled in Bamenda from the 11th to 12th of August was inevitably prolonged to the 14th of August 2012. The assembly in Bamenda was characterised by quarrelling, and some lawyers threatened to exchange blows but were always calmed down by mediators. After the election of the president of the General Assembly of the Bar association, Barrister Tang Emmanuel and Barrister Viviane Nana Patyswit as the vice, the lawyers proceeded to elect the 15 members of the Bar council.

Then came the time for the lawyers to vote the Bar Council president. The four candidates for the post were; Incumbent Eta Besong Emmanuel Junior, Sama Francis Asanga, Ngnie Kamga Jackson Francis, and Njualem Charles. When it was time for the last campaign messages, some of the candidates were seen offering FCFA 5000 banknotes to colleagues to vote for them. Out of the 665 who voted, 252 voted for Sama Francis Asanga. The lawyers were anxious to see their new leader as some of them claimed that the Bar council had been taken hostage by the previous team.

After the proclamation of the results, jubilation was the order of the day. Bar Council President Sama Francis thanked all those who voted him and promised to bring back the lost dignity and credibility of the bar.