Buea University Students Jailed For Violent Strike

The students were sentenced on July 25 following the May 15 strike in the institution.

The Buea Court of First Instance, Thursday 25 July 2013, slammed a jail sentence on some four University of Buea students who were being tried for their involvement in the May 15, 2013 violent strike action in the institution. The four were found guilty in at least one out of the 24 count charges that were labeled against them.

The first accused, Sigalla Remy Tita was slammed an 18-month jail term while the other three had a maximum of six months suspension jail sentence. The four are also expected to pay FCFA 150.000 each into the State treasury as Court costs. In default, they would serve an imprisonment term of nine months. Fourteen of the students who appeared in court were discharged and acquitted.

The case that pitted the People of Cameroon against some 16 students of the University of Buea over destruction of property, disturbance of public order and assault, amongst other charges, also had civil claims from different parties. Thus, the four convicted were all liable in one way or the other to the civil claims. Sigalla Remy, a Mathematics major in University of Buea was ordered by the Court to pay the sum of FCFA 30 million to the University of Buea while all the convicted were ordered to pay between FCFA 100,000 to 1 million from the second to the 14th civil claimers.

While handing down the judgment, the president of the Buea Court of First Instance, Magistrate Mrs. Beatrice Ntuba reminded the students that they were not in court because of a mere strike but because of the violent nature of the strike that led to destruction of property, assaults which left some persons incapacitated for days. She said, though a strike is a human rights action, the students have to respect the rights of others.

Cameroon Tribune also learnt that some five other students who were later arrested still in connection of the May 15 rioting, are due to appear in Court next Wednesday 31 July 2013.