Eyoum Case: Clemency will be arbitrary- Mandengué

Lawyer Caroline Wassermann, lawyer of Lydienne Yen Eyoum, on the case between the State of Cameroon told RFI that her client "will ask for an amnesty grace that will allow her to be reinstated in her rights since Lydienne has never embezzled a penny of public money".

Sentenced by the Supreme Court of Cameroon to 25 years in prison for the embezzlement of public funds on June 6, 2015, Lydienne Yen Eyoum was accused of embezzling a billion CFA francs in an overlap case between the Cameroonian State and SGBC Bank, a Franco-cameroonian subsidiary of Société Générale.

In an interview published by the Mediapart Web site on July 13, Me Black Yondo Mandengué said he was somewhat embarrassed regarding the exercise of the grace remedy to be addressed to the head of state.

For this lawyer from the Cameroon bar, the declaration of president Paul Biya at the press conference during President Hollande's visit “suggests to me that, he is convinced that Lydienne Yen Eyoum committed the misappropriation crime of public funds which she is charged”.

“In these circumstances, the grant of clemency would turn into arbitrary so that other Cameroonians guilty of the same crime continue to languish in jails of the Republic. This isn’t the Cameroon or the justice we want”, declared Me Yondo Black.

"I would have been more comfortable seeking the remedy of grace if President Paul Biya responded to the journalist when the French President raised the Lydienne Yen Eyoum case. But knowing that we are in a state of separation of powers, he will notify the public when he has the folder in his hand", he noted before adding: "such a response left the door wide open for clemency. I am convinced that the Supreme Court has distorted the facts and forced the doors leading to the conviction.

However, Paul Biya took care to recall the facts and noted the independence of Cameroon justice. However, stating that: "I'll see what I could if it (the presidential pardon) is the wish of the applicant and if the constitution gives me the means to do something. It's with a good heart that I will do it when the time comes", Paul Biya said.

For Me Yondo Black, the Supreme Court’s decision must be respected and applied. "Whatever it is I'm going to seek an audience with the head of state, hoping that his minions will not be a barrier, as it’s usually the case, to explain my obstinacy which is to see Lydienne Yen Eyoum released,” he concluded.