By Tata Mbunwe
The Court of First Instance of Douala has handed a one-year suspended sentence to veteran lawyer and human rights defender, Barrister Alice Nkom, after finding her guilty of breaking administrative seals placed on her organisation, REDHAC’s office in December 2024.
The verdict, which covers charges of breaking of seals and rebellion against Alice Nkom and her fellow human rights defender Maximilienne Ngo Mbe, was delivered this Monday, September 21.
In the first verdict, the court acquitted Chantal Maximilienne Ngo Mbe, REDHAC’s executive director, and Barrister Angèle Alice Nkom of rebellion charges, ruling that the offence was not substantiated.
However, Barrister Nkom was found guilty of breaking seals in the second ruling.
She was sentenced to one year imprisonment, suspended for five years from the date the decision becomes final, and ordered to pay a FCFA 500,000 fine plus FCFA 62,100 in costs. The court could not allow her to be detained due to her age.
The defence has been given 10 days to file an appeal.
The case dates back to December 5, 2024, when REDHAC’s offices were sealed after the government suspended its activities alongside those of other NGOs.
Barrister Alice Nkom, a fervent human rights defender and government critic, broke the seals after deeming them illegal.
She would later be summoned by the Wouri Senior Divisional Officer on January 10, 2025, and before the national gendarmerie on 14 January before later dragged to court.
REDHAC, led by Ngo Mbe, has long been a vocal critic of human rights abuses in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions and has faced repeated administrative and legal pressures.