Court formalities in the case between the State of Cameroon and the former Registrar-in-Chief of the Bamenda Court of First Instance in the North West Region, Victor Tambang Mbang Menji took place yesterday, February 27 at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde with the presentation of the lists of witnesses.
When the college of judges entered into the court room at about 11:00 am, their leader, Mr Justice Abednego Bea Kala apologised for the late start which was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. He explained that other judges of the college were involved in other cases taking place at the same time in other court rooms. After the head of the college of judges declared the court session opened, the various parties were presented.
It should be recalled that Victor Tambang Mbang Menji is being tried for allegedly misappropriating public funds between 1998 and 2003. It is said that in the course of performing his duties as the Registrar-in-Chief of the Bamenda Court of First Instance, Victor Tambang raised and forged vouchers for output bonuses due customary courts of Mankon, Tubah, Bafut and Bali worth over FCFA 116 million. He was charged by the examining magistrate of the High Court of Mezam Division, North West Region, who conducted the preliminary inquiry and commuted him for trial before the Special Criminal Court, for misappropriating public funds contrary to section 184 (A) of the Penal Code.
During the court session yesterday the number of witnesses for the legal department and that for the accused was fixed by the court. Each party presented a list of two witnesses. The lists of witnesses were also exchanged between the legal department and the counsel for the accused. Copies of the list of witnesses were also presented to the court for insertion into the court's file.
Witnesses presented by the counsel of the accused include Mrs Asah nee Mbayou and Mr Samuel Forbi while those presented by the legal department include; Mrs Susan Ngweba Abaando who works at the treasury in Bamenda (North West Region) and Valery Nlongo Ellobi, who is working at the Regional Judicial Police Station in Bamenda. The case was adjourned to March 20, 2013 for the witnesses to be handed with summons to appear in court and also for hearing of the matter to commence.
