The Cameroon Bar Council is facing criticism for its mildness towards the National Gendarmerie, after two gendarmes tortured prominent rights lawyer, Tamfu Richard.
Bar Council President, Mbah Eric Mbah, led Council members recently at a meeting with the Gendarmerie hierarchy in Yaounde to discuss how both institutions can better collaborate.
They agreed to create space for permanent dialogue to avoid clashes between lawyers and gendarmes in the future.
The meeting came barely one week after two gendarmes heavily brutalized Barrister Tamfu Richard in Douala on November 27, 2024.
The lawyer had blocked them from arresting his client without a warrant.
Following the incident, the Gendarmerie promised to investigate the torture and publish the results within 72 hours. But it has not honored the promise.
Ending Gendarme Impunity
Lawyers say if the National Gendarmerie fails to arrest Barrister Tamfu’s abusers as promised, then gendarmes will continue impunity.
Christian Ntimbane, a lawyer and civil society advocate, thinks the Cameroon Bar Council hasn’t done enough to push for justice.
Ntimbane has shamed the Bar President and his exco, who should defend lawyers and the dignity of the legal profession, for dining with the oppressor instead of pressing for justice.
“The Bar Council has only one thing to do right now: to demand the arrest and appearance of the gendarme officers, perpetrators of aggression and degrading and inhuman treatment against Master Richard Tamfu, before the Military Court, competent to judge the soldiers who committed crimes as part of their mission,” Christian Ntimbane wrote.
He continued: “By default, you have to decide to suspend the Lawyers’ work for 15 days renewable. What happened is intolerable and cannot be relatable.
“A lawyer who has been tortured publicly, without any judicial consequences, destroys the social esteem of the lawyer. Our image is tarnished, lowered to the citizens we defend.
“How can one pretend to defend, when we ourselves are unable to defend ourselves?
“If it was a lawyer who had assaulted a policeman, he would already be arrested,” Ntimbane said.
No Gendarme Arrested Yet
It appears the National Gendarmerie is not planning on establishing justice for Barrister Tamfu Richard.
Five days after the torture, Barrister Tamfu clarified that the Gendarmerie had made no arrests relating to the crime.
It is now eight days since the torture occurred and there is yet no update from the Gendarmerie on the promised investigation.
Several civil society organizations and political figures have denounced the act, and called for accountability.
The Cameroon Bar Association condemned the act and called for thorough investigations and justice.
On December 2, Human Rights Watch wrote: “Cameroonian authorities should stop targeting lawyers and ensure that the promised investigation into the attack against Tamfu is credible, thorough, and impartial, and that those responsible are held accountable.”
However, it remains uncertain if there will be any justice at all.
Previous cases of police–military brutality in Cameroon have gone unaccounted for and promised investigations hardly materialize.
