Cameroonian law students in Rwanda forced to return home

Cameroonian law students in Rwanda say they are now forced to return home after they were denied admission into the Rwandan Bar.

One of the students who spoke to MMI yesterday said Rwandan authorities have ruled out all possibilities of admitting any Cameroonian into the Bar this year.

Over 400 Cameroonian students who are finalising their law studies in the East African nation were denied registration into the Rwanda Bar exams earlier this month.

Their hopes of getting the conundrum fixed were squashed during a meeting with the President of Rwanda Bar, Nkundabarashi Moïse, on Wednesday.

The Bar President reportedly said, that by stopping the admission of Cameroonian pupil lawyers, the Rwanda Bar Association was solving a problem that has been plaguing them for five years now.

“He told us they have taken their decision and want the problem to be solved once and for all,” said a Cameroonian law student in Rwanda who will be returning home in December.

“…our much-feared fate was sealed, so as it stands we are all boarding our flights home,” the student lawyer added.

For years now, Cameroonians who are studying law in Rwanda have only been admitted into the country’s Bar based on the privilege principle of “equity”.

This is because both countries have no formal agreement blinding them in the training of lawyers.

‘Invalid’ Certificates

Cameroon does not recognize diplomas acquired from law schools in Rwanda because both countries lack a formal agreement.

This means diplomas that Cameroonian pupil lawyers have acquired in Rwanda might not help them gain direct admission into the Cameroon Bar.

“Cameroon does not recognise the certificate, but it is the certificate we use to write the Bar exams here in Rwanda. It is recognised around the EAC (East African Community) and some other countries,” the pupil lawyer told MMI.

The diplomas could have enabled them to write the Rwandan Bar exams, but they have been barred from registering.

Their admission into the Cameroon Bar is only subject to admission into a foreign Bar or after they have passed the yearly pupilage test into the Cameroon Bar.

This test, which is supposed to be organized by the Ministry of Justice every year, has not been organized since 2014.

Due to this, Cameroonians who aspire to practice the legal profession in the country must only study abroad and gain admission into foreign Bars before they can be admitted into the Cameroon Bar.

Lack Of Willingness

The frustrations Cameroonian pupil lawyers are now experiencing in Rwanda have been blamed on the unwillingness of Cameroonian authorities to dialogue with the Rwanda Bar Association.

At the meeting with Cameroonian pupil lawyers on Wednesday, the Rwanda Bar Association indicated that the Ministry of Justice has shown no concern about resolving the problem.

Attempts by the Cameroon Bar President, Mbah Eric, to address the problem failed, after the pupil lawyers were denied registration into the Rwanda Bar exams.

Pupil lawyers say they expected the Minister of Justice, Laurent Esso, to address the Rwanda Bar or send an envoy to the country, but that did not happen.

“Even a correspondence from Cameroon to Rwanda indicating their intention to engage in constructive negotiations to solve the problem will have been enough,” a pupil lawyer in Rwanda said.

As of now, Cameroonian student lawyers in Rwanda have no choice but to return home where they won’t still be able to practice as lawyers.

Some of them said they will spend the next few months finalizing their studies and obtain their diplomas before flying back home.