Barrister Tamfu Richard Sues Gendarmes Who Brutalized Him

Barrister Tamfu Richard, a Douala-based human rights lawyer, has filed a complaint with the prosecutor of the Douala Military Court against gendarme officers who brutalised him weeks ago.

This comes a few days after the Cameroon Bar Council rejected the findings of an investigation carried out by the gendarmerie.

The investigation instead implicated the human rights lawyer, largely ignoring the brutality of gendarmerie officers.

The complaint, which MMI has seen, identifies the officers as Enanga Paul, Bouem Kiyaki, Baudrillard Lanfant and Medjo Eko Célestin Phabrice, who are are serving at the Douala-Bonanjo Gendarmerie Group.

Another accused gendarme, Ntah Malvin Tiku, works at the Bonaberi Research Brigade III.

The complaint also cites Nkolo Marie Rose, and an unidentified police officer.

“In the matter of Barrister TAMFU Richard against gendarmes, I am informing national and international opinion that my Lawyers have formally filed a complaint on my behalf with the Military State Prosecutor at the Douala Military Tribunal,” said Barrister Tamfu Richard in a post on his social media handle.

Lawyers representing Barrister Tamfu Richard, through the complaint, are accusing the gendarmes of complicity in torture.

Other accusations include abuse of office, obstruction of the practice of the profession of a lawyer, insults, threats, minor injuries.

On November 7, 2024, a video went viral showing two gendarme officers of the Bonanjo Groupement brutalizing Barrister Tamfu Richard. They had violently thrown him into the trunk of their service car.

Reports say the officers pounced on Barrister Tamfu Richard for resisting the ‘illegal’ arrest of his client.

An investigation ordered by the Secretary of State for National Gendarmerie rather implicated the lawyer.

It accuses him of violence against civil servants, destruction of military equipment, obstruction of justice, rebellion and insults.

Bar Council’s Rejection

The Cameroon Bar Council outrightly rejected the findings, and called for an impartial investigation involving the police and Gendarmerie.

“It is on this note of gross injustice and manifest impartiality that I seize your high office, urging you to instruct that the investigation of the said complaints be carried out by a joint team of police and gendarmes to guarantee a minimal level of fairness in the investigation,” Barrister Mbah Eric Mbah, Bar Council President, said in a petition to the Minister of Defense.