Special Criminal Court docks former SDF Mayor

The former Mayor of the Douala IV (Bonaberi) Council, John Ndanglle Kumase, appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde last week, following a summons issued by the Court. Kumase, who served as Mayor from 2007 to 2013, was summoned in connection to alleged financial malpractices.

Three of his four Deputy Mayors also appeared at the Special Criminal Court for their alleged involvement in financial improprieties. The three are: Andre Djeudje Paul Manbagap, and Ebenezer Ejengele Ndoumbe, who are first, second and fourth deputies Mayors respectively.

The only former Deputy Mayor not indicted is, Therese Kamogne epse Teuguia (former Third Deputy Mayor).

Meanwhile, The Post has also learnt that, before the former Mayor and his three Deputies traveled to Yaounde, the current Mayor of the now CPDM-run Council, Koum Amond Elangue, had, a week earlier, been summoned to the Special Criminal Court. He was informed that the Council is a civil party in a case to come up in the Court.

Old Matter That Never Died Meanwhile, The Post has learnt that the case is an old matter which was believed buried, following a long period of silence. In 2009 and 2010, the then Secretary General at the Douala IV Council, Jonas Epie Mbong, filed a series of complaints to the then Wouri SDO, Bernard Okalia Bilai, and the then Minister of State in charge of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, in which he accused the Mayor, Kumase, of embezzlement of funds. The three Deputy Mayors were also incriminated in the complaints.

Open War It would be recalled that Mayor Kumase and the Secretary General, Mbong, were engaged in an open war, especially during Council sessions. At times the situation degenerated to the point where the two traded insults.

After each session, the Mayor and the Secretary General separately addressed the press, attacking one another. The Secretary General would accuse Kumase of embezzlement, while the Mayor would accuse Mbong of incompetence. The Mayor would also insist that the Secretary General had no competence to raise questions about the Council’s finances.

In 2010, the then Wouri SDO set up an administrative commission of enquiry to examine the complaints which the Secretary General filed, reportedly on the instructions of his Minister. The commission reportedly completed its work in early 2011 and the SDO forwarded the report to the then Minister, Marafa, but the content was not made known to Kumase and his collaborators.

Meantime, following the tense working relationship between the Mayor and Secretary General, the latter was removed and sent to another council out of the Littoral Region, following a proposal by the SDO to hierarchy.

Nothing was heard about the report till Kumase and his assistants left office, following the defeat of the SDF at the September 30, 2013 Municipal Elections.

Attempts To Keep Matter Secret When the former Mayor and his three Deputies received the summonses from the Special Criminal Court, they kept the information secret, even from other local SDF officials. Their trip to Yaounde last week was also kept a secret, especially as their appearance was not in an open court.

However, when The Post learnt about it and contacted Kumase by phone on October 9, he sounded hostile when asked if it was true that he was summoned by the Special Criminal Court. Rather, he reacted by remarking that this reporter ran away from covering his activities when he was Mayor, only to take interest in him now.

Nevertheless, Kumase took a rendezvous for the next day, saying that he had some documents related to the matter to show The Post. But called the next day (October 10), Kumase said he was in Mungo Division and will only be available on Monday, October 12.

But met that Monday at his residence at Mabanda in Bonaberi, Kumase did not show any document. He, however, admitted he and three former Deputy Mayors were summoned by the Special Criminal Court, but said he would not make any statement on a matter in court.

Kumase is a retired policeman who became Deputy Mayor of the Douala IV Council when the SDF first ran it from 1996 – 2002. He was Councilor from 2002-2007, when the SDF was minority in the CPDM-run Council.

Then, when the SDF won the 2007 Municipal Elections, Kumase became Mayor - the first Anglophone to be Mayor in Douala. He is also the long-serving Chairman of the Bonaberi Electoral District of the leading opposition party.