Drivers seek protection against Gun-happy mayor

Members of the National Syndicate of Taxi Drivers in Cameroon, SYNCHTACAM, Buea, have filed a complaint against the Mayor of Buea Council, Patrick Ekema Esunge, for threat of life and illegal sealing of their office.

The drivers filed the complaint at the Southwest Regional Office of the National Commission of Human Rights and Freedoms, NCHRF, on May 9.

According to the Drivers, they are now living in fear after the Mayor threatened them with a gun and promised to deal with them if they go contrary to his orders. The drivers equally hold that their lives, activities and the lives of their families are no longer safe, if nothing is done to bring the gun-happy Mayor to order.

In the complaint, the drivers beseeched members of NCHRF to come to their aid because, according to them, the problem has a lot of human rights undertones. The drivers filed the complaint a week after Mayor Ekema and his aide descended on the SYNCHTACAM executives, accusing the syndicate of operating illegally and without his authorisation.

In the course of their exchanges, the Mayor reportedly pulled out a gun and enforced his authority.He reportedly told the executive of the syndicate to go and report him to the United Nations or the Head of State if they were not satisfied with his decision.

Besides threatening their lives, the drivers said the Mayor singled out one of them, Kilo Dinla, saying he was going to settle scores with him personally and also threatened the landlady of their office that her building will be earmarked for demolition.

Speaking over CRTV Buea on May 12, Mayor Ekema refuted all the allegations on the threat of life. According to him, Buea is too small to host two drivers’ syndicates, given the numerous problems that a single syndicate like SN CHAUTAC is already posing in the municipality over the years.

Another drivers’ syndicate, the Mayor holds, will only increase the problems, coupled with the fact that the two syndicates have already started f ighting between themselves.

For his part, the Southwest Regional Delegate of Labour and Social Security, Raymond Tabe Eyong, said the Mayor did not act within the ambit of the law. According to Tabe Eyong, there can be as many syndicates as possible in a municipality, if the syndicates have been duly registered.

Tabe Eyong said SYNCHTACAM presented authentic documents signed by the Minister of Labour and Social Security and there is no reason to prevent them from operating in the municipality.

He has however, called on the Governor of the Southwest Region, Bernard Okalia Bilai and the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Gregoire Owana, to intervene before the issue spills over to social unrest.