Ongoing judicial harassment and arbitrary detention of Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba

CMR 002 / 0613 / OBS 049.4

Arbitrary detention /Judicial harassment

Cameroon
May 30, 2018

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, has received new information and requests yoururgent intervention in the following situation in Cameroon.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sourcesabout the ongoing judicial harassment and arbitrary detention of Mr. MusaUsman Ndamba, National Vice President of the Mbororo Social and CulturalDevelopment Association (MBOSCUDA), an organisation that defends indigenousMbororo rights [1].

According to the informationreceived, on May 29, 2018, the hearing concerning Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba’s bailapplication was adjourned to June 5, 2018, upon request of the lawyers of theplaintiff, Mr. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo[2], who applied to act as civil party in the proceedings and claimeddelays in Mr. Ndamba’s lawyers response to their application.

Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba had been sentenced on May 11, 2018, to six monthsin prison and a fine of 500’000 FCFA (approximatively 760 Euros) on charges of “defamation of character”,under section 305(1) of the Criminal Code of Cameroon[3]. The sentence came after60 hearings and seven years of continuous judicial harassment, and at the endof a proceeding characterised by continuous violations of Mr. Ndamba’s right tofair trial (see background information). Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba is currentlydetained at Bamenda Central Prison in the North-West Region.

The Observatory strongly condemns thecontinuous judicial harassment against Mr. Ndamba, which is a further evidenceof the judiciary power’s complicity with Mr. Danpullo’s strategy to keep Mr.Ndamba in prison in order to hinder his peaceful and legitimate human rightsactivities, in particular asMBOSCUDA’s National Vice President.

Moreover, these acts of harassment are notisolated, as the Observatory has reported several cases of judicial harassmentagainst leaders of civil society organisations denouncing the government’scorruption and opposing land grabbing in Cameroon. Many of these acts arelinked to cases of land acquisition by Mr. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo[4].

Background information:

In 2011, Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba was put under investigation by the police,following a complaint brought by Mr. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo for “propagatingfalse information liable to injure public authorities”, “being a party in ajudicial proceeding on oath and making false declarations”, “making a falsereport against Baba Ahmadou Danpullo liable to lead to his prosecution” and“injuring the reputation of Baba Ahmadou Danpullo by imputation of unprovablefacts”. However, the alleged defamatory statements contained in theaffidavit on the basis of which Mr. Ndamba was condemned were not signed by himbut by another individual named Mr. Musa Adamu.

On May 10, 2013, Mr. MusaUsman Ndamba was summoned to appear before the Court of First Instance inBamenda, North Western Cameroon, in relation to these charges. During thehearing, Mr. Ndamba refuted all the allegations and pleaded not guilty. Mr.Ndamba was bailed, pending another hearing scheduled on May 27, 2013. On thatday, as the landowner failed to appear in court, the matter was adjourned toJune 28, 2013, and the judge warned that he would award costs against thelandowner should he fail again to attend court. Subsequently, in May 2014 thecourt dismissed the charges against Mr. Ndamba for lack of a diligent prosecution.

On July 29, 2016, Mr. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo reinstated the same case, accusing Mr.Ndamba of “propagation of false information, false oath, false report anddefamation of character” based on the same affidavit and evidence as the casein 2013. Subsequently, the trial was adjourned several times in absence of theplaintiff.

On December 18, 2017, thetrial of Mr. Ndamba was adjourned for the fifty-fifth time.

On February 23, 2018, thetrial against Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba was resumed for the 57th time.The plaintiff Mr. Baba AhmadouDanpullo was not present atthe hearing and was represented by Mr. Sama Francis Asanga, a senior official from the opposition SocialDemocratic Party (SDF), close family member of the party leader Mr. John FruNdi and former President of the Cameroon Bar Association. On March 2, 2018, the Bamenda Court ofFirst Instance presided by Magistrate Justine Babila Tebid adjourned the nexthearing to March 16, 2018.

On March 16, 2018, the trial was adjourned toApril 6, 2018, because of the absence of the plaintiff’s witnesses.

On April 6, 2018, the trial went ahead with oneof the plaintiff’s witnesses Buba Wajiri also known as Mallam Gajere and wasadjourned again to April 13, 2018.

On April 13, 2018, Mr. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo,was not present at the hearing and was represented by Mr. Sama Francis Asanga,a senior SDF official, close family member of the party leader Mr John Fru Ndiand former President of the Cameroon Bar Association.

On April 27, 2018, Barrister Joseph Akong, who notarised the affidavit in May 2013,testified that Mr. Ndamba was not the person for whom he notarised theaffidavit, and that he had only met Mr. Ndamba during the preliminaryinvestigation of the case. He also stated that he would be able to produce Mr. Musa Adamu in court.

On May 11, 2018, Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba was sentenced to 6 months inprison and a fine of 500’000 FCFA (approximatively 760 Euros) on charges of “defamation of character”,under section 305(1) of the Criminal Code of Cameroon. Furthermore, he wascondemned to pay an additional sum of 500’000 FCFA as civil award to Mr. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo. Following the sentence, Mr. Musa Usman Ndambawas transferred to Bamenda Central Prison in the North-West Region and appealedthe decision.

Actions requested:

Please write to theauthorities of Cameroon asking them to:

i. Immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba;

ii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrityof Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba, as well as of all MBOSCUDA members andall human rights defenders in Cameroon;

ii. Put an end to all acts ofharassment, including at the judicial level, against of Mr. Musa UsmanNdamba, as well as of all MBOSCUDA members and all human rights defendersin Cameroon;

iii. Until all charges are dropped,ensure that all judicial proceedings against Mr. Musa Usman Ndamba are carriedout in full compliance with his right to a fair trial, as protected underinternational law;

iv. Fully implement therecommendation of the Inter-Ministerial Commission of Investigation (The JaniCommission) on the abuses by the landowner mentioned above, ordered by thePresident of Cameroon and submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister since2004, for action[5];

v. Conform in any circumstanceswith the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted onDecember 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular itsArticles 1 and 12.2. ;

vi. Ensure in allcircumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordancewith international human rights instruments ratified by Cameroon.

Addresses:

• His Excellency Mr. Paul Biya, President of the Republic, Presidency of the Republic, Palais de l’Unité, 1000 Yaoundé, Cameroon, Fax +237 22 22 08 70
• H.E. Mr. Philémon Yang, Prime Minister and Chief Head of Government, Primature du Cameroun, 1000 Yaoundé‚ Cameroon. Fax: +237 22 23 57 65. Email: spm@spm.gov.cm
• Mr. Laurent Esso, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 1000 Yaoundé‚ Cameroon, Fax: + 237 22 23 00 05
• Mr. Atanga Nji Paul, Minister of Territorial Administration, Fax: + 237 22 22 37 35
• Dr. Chemuta Divine Banda, Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, Fax: +237 22 22 60 82, E-mail: cndhl@iccnet.cm / cdbanda26@yahoo.fr
• H.E. Mr. Anatole Fabien Marie Nkou, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cameroon to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Avenue de France 23, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: + 41 22 736 21 65, Email: mission.cameroun@bluewin.ch

H.E. Mr. Daniel Evina Abe’e, Ambassador ofCameroon to Belgium & the European Union, Embassy of the Republic ofCameroon in Brussels, 131 av. Brugmann, 1190 (Forest), Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 344 57 35; Email: ambassade.cameroun@skynet.be; embassy@cameroon.be

Please also write to diplomatic representationsof Cameroon in your respective countries.

***

Geneva-Paris,May 31, 2018

Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) wascreated in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the FIDH.The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situationsof repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both membersof ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 2518 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

[1] TheMbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA) defends therights of indigenous Mbororo pastoralists in North-Western Cameroon since 1992.It has been active in monitoring the sale of public land to private landowners,denouncing corruption and defending indigenous people’s land rights.

[2] Mr.Baba Ahmadou Danpullo is a billionaire businessman, cattle rancher, teaplantation owner and a member of the Central Committee of the ruling CameroonPeople’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) party.

[3] Seethe Observatory’s Urgent Appeal CMR 002 / 0613 / OBS 049.3, published on May17, 2018.

[4] Seethe Observatory’s Urgent Appeals CMR 001 / 0716 / OBS 056.3 published on May11, 2017 and CMR 001 / 0317 / OBS 033.2 published on April 20, 2018.

[5] Thecommission was created by the Minister of Justice through Ministerial DecisionNo. 164 on July 2, 2003, modified by Decision No. 230 on August 13, 2003, toinvestigate human rights abuses by Mr. Danpulo against the Mbororo communityincluding arbitrary arrests, trumped charges, imprisonment, torture,expropriation of lands, interference with Mbororo community leadership, etc.Recommendations of the Commission include that the authorities retrace andwhere necessary re-demarcate the legal boundaries of ELBA Ranch in accordancewith Land Certificate No. 140/Menchum of December 1, 1989, with a surface areaof 4,726 hectares; that the authorities retrace and where necessaryre-demarcate the legal boundaries of the Land Grant measuring 1,335 hectaresallocated to Baba Ahmadou Danpullo for transhumance; that Baba Ahmadou Danpulloliberates illegally occupied lands; that Baba Ahmadou Danpulo pays compensationto those who were displaced by ELBA Ranch; that the authorities identify thevarious Mbororo communities in the North-West capable of being led bytraditional rulers designated in conformity with the law; that the authoritiestake measures with regards to the illegal and irregular functioning of NdawaraAlkali Court. For more information, please see:http://justice-dignity.net/wp-content/themes/green-stimulus/Jani_Commission_Report.pdf @font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 14.15pt; text-indent: -14.15pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }pre { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.Caractresdenotedebasdepage { vertical-align: super; }span.WW-LienInternet { }span.WW-FootnoteReference3 { vertical-align: super; }span.WW-FootnoteReference4 { vertical-align: super; }span.FooterChar { }span.HeaderChar { }span.FootnoteTextChar { }span.HTMLPreformattedChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }