Barrister Ngnie Kamga, Ntumfor Nico Halle at the helm of the Cameroon Bar Council

The elective general assembly of the Cameroon Bar Council Jan. 31 in Yaoundé, turned out to be highly contested with five candidates, among them, a woman vying for the presidency of the council.

Over 2000 lawyers from around the country answered present at the session that lasted for close to 48 hours running into the late hours of Feb.1.

Barrister Sama Francis, outgoing president of the CBC who in the build up to the gathering was strongly campaigning for a second term as President, surprised his colleagues and dropped his candidature before the election, leaving his supporters kind of frustrated.

The Cameroon Journal gathered that Sama’s decision not to contest the election was informed by alleged financial inconsistencies reported during his stewardship. Financial accountability issues were so dominant during the gathering that prior to the election, lawyer after lawyer had to take turns to kind of interrogate Sama (Read the second report).

The lone lady in the race, Barrister Ngoulla Fotso Ariette, who also decided to step aside at the last minute asked that her supporters vote for barrister Jackson Ngnie Kamga.

The stage had thus narrowed down to three candidates, barrister Abdoul Bagui, Tchkounte Patie Charles and Ngnie Kamga. Following the vote cast, Ngnie Kamga emerged winner with 650 votes against 421 for Tchakounte, and 135 for Bagui.

Kamga, a prince of Bandjoun palace in the West region, a practicing lawyer for 25 years now will be heading the bar presidency for the very first time. Meantime, there were also elections into the General Assembly of the bar association with 60 candidates contesting for 15 opened positions. Acclaimed international legal consultant, Ntumfor Nico Halle was elected president of the General Assembly.

Given that his candidature was greeted by all and sundry, it is hoped that he did use his position to facilitate the creation of a law school that the lawyers have fought for over the years and the construction of a secretariat for the association.