Court orders seizure of SDF assets

The West Regional office of Cameroon’s main opposition party, Social Democratic Front (SDF), will soon be emptied after two Bafoussam courts ordered the seizure of all its assets.

The rulings came as the SDF failed to win a law suit against one of its former employee who had sued the party for non-payment of salary.

The lawsuit was filed by one Abraham Talla, one time administrative secretary of the party in the West region. He claims he was unjustly sacked in 2006 after 17 years of activism for the party.

More so, Fru Ndi’s party did not pay his salary arrears that accumulated up to the sum of 1,455,375 CFA francs (One million, four hundred and fifty five thousands, three hundred and seventy five francs).

After several months of hearings, the Bafoussam Courts of First Instance and that of Appeal recently ruled in favour of Talla and instructed that all assets belonging to the SDF West Regional office be seized and put up for public auction.

The ruling apparently questions the credibility of Fru Ndi’s party noted for criticizing the Biya’s regime inability to properly manage the country when it cannot pay its own workers.

The Journal gathered that in the West region, most SDF permanent workers are poorly remunerated. Abraham Talla who served the party as regional administrative secretary from 2001 to 2006 is a case in point.

He was placed on a salary of 30,000 CFA francs for such a top job. In 17 years, he remained assistant communication secretary 1998-1999 and Provincial Secretary for Communications and Press in 1999.

The disregard for years of selfless service is what pushed Talla to engage a court brokered procedure which led to the payment of an advance of 300,000 CFA Francs representing 10 months of labour.

The salary arrears were claimed from the then provincial chairman of the SDF Sonkin Etienne before he handed over to the new provincial president Tamo Romuald.

Tamo had acknowledged the salary arrears owed Talla promising to complete the payment by end of October 2006. Unable to fulfill his promise, Abraham Talla reported the matter to the West Regional Inspectorate of Labour, the Bafoussam Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal which all ruled in his favour.

In consequence, properties belonging to the West regional office of the SDF will be seized by the bailiff and sold at a public auction.

The money will be used to reimburse Talla’s 1, 455, 375 CFA francs (One million, four hundred and fifty five thousands, three hundred and seventy five francs) salary arrears.