Split in North West Bar Association

North West lawyers are divided over who will represent them in the Cameroon Bar council, ahead of an elective general assembly scheduled for January 31, in Yaounde.

The division among North West lawyers is being triggered by a new association, New Generation Advocates of North West Region. They held a meeting on Saturday January 3, in Bamenda and instead of endorsing Sama, chose to endorse Barristers Kemende Henry Gamsey, Umenjoh Hiram Abendong and Mbah Eric Mbah as the region’s prospective candidates into the Bar council.

A statement issued at the end of the January 3 meeting signed for the group by Barrister Sang George Ndang; reads in parts:

“After due consultation with a majority of advocates of Bamenda in particular and those of the entire North West region, we have decided to endorse these three candidates who have pledged to uphold the ideology of the New Generation…” The new lawyers’ association which is a grouping of lawyers disgruntled with the North West Lawyers’ Association, NOWELA, has as slogan: “ We have a say as regards issues of the Bar and who represents us at the Bar.”

Speaking to The Journal shortly after Saturday’s meeting, Barrister Kemende Henry who said NOWELA was his brain child, explained that over 100 lawyers left the mother association to form the New Generation of Advocates. “All the members of NOWELA have left; leaving behind only the executive which is still hanging on to power against the will of a majority North West lawyers… what you call NOWELA is only a shell, only the executive whose mandate long expired are still around," Kemende stated.

But in a sharp contrast to Kemende’s claim that the new lawyers’ association counts more than 100 members, a prominent North West lawyer we spoke to told us categorically that even though they are aware of the outfit’s existence, it does not have more than fifteen members. The lawyer equally rubbished claims that the New Generation Advocates’ association has endorsed three candidates to represent the North West region for this month end’s election into the Bar council.

Barrister Akum Michael, another north-west based-lawyer argued that: “…the so-called New Generation Advocates have a right to choose their candidates but those candidates do not in any way represent the North West region…”

He said even though ten candidates from the region had expressed the wish to run for election into the Bar, lawyers of the North West region met recently at the court of appeal hall and unanimously agreed that the incumbent, Barrister Sama Francis and two others yet to be selected or elected candidates would be put up to represent the region at the Bar Council election.

Reacting to the decision by the New Generation Advocates not to endorse his candidature for the upcoming Bar Council election, Sama Francis said it is his opinion that the move was carefully designed to intoxicate the atmosphere and set confusion among especially North West lawyers. “I know who is behind what those young boys are doing,” Sama quipped.

Asked to say if he believes the new lawyers’ association is made up of more than 100 members, Barrister Sama said: “I have been made to understand that it’s a grouping of 10-15 lawyers…but no small grouping can be ignored during election periods…” He added.

The Batonier boasted that his landmark achievements at the helm of the Bar have won him lots of support from within and without the North West region. Prove of his achievements, he said, is that he has just within two years taken the Bar to the level where everybody wants to become member.

Former Batonier, Barister Eta Bisong had earlier made public his intention to run for eletions into the bar council, but pointed out that he is not eyeing the post of president yet.