Senator Barrister Henry Kemende

Senator Kemende Explores Possible Ways of Political Transition in Cameroon

Senator Henry Kemende is one of Cameroon's most outspoken politicians in the Upper House. Cameroon People's Francis Ekongang Nzante caught up with him and he talked elaborately on the possible ways that Political Transition could be achieved in Cameroon. 

Excerpts

You are considered in many circles as a Legal Luminary and a household name in political circles. Who exactly is Senator Kemende?

I want to consider those adjectives you have used to describe me as compliments and I thank you for that. It is your judgment to refer to me as a household name in political circles and equally your judgment to refer to me as a Legal Luminary. Barrister Kemende is just somebody who does things in his own style and in a very simplistic manner. It is motivating to hear you describing what I do in that manner. Barrister Kemende is a Lawyer that was sworn into practice in 1999. I took my training with Justice John Nkengong Moni and Justice Nyoh Wakai. Emminent personalities as far as this country is concerned. It is a privilege to have passed through the hands of someone like Nyoh Wakai who was once a Supreme Court Judge in the former West Cameroon and Founder of the SDF Party. It is equally a privilege to have passed through the hands of Nkengong Moni John, a former Minister of Transport and Cameroonian Ambassador to about four countries. I respect these two old people and I am proud of them. Besides being a Lawyer now for twenty years standing I also became interested in politics. I developed interest in politics after serving in ONEL 1 and ONEL 2 in Ngoketunjia as Divisional Head for two years. I eventually left ONEL and made my first attempt to get into Parliament in 2007 and did not succeed. From there I left Lawan Bako's UDP and moved to the Social Democratic Front SDF after I was solocited by my political partners of yesteryears and my contemporaries at the time to work as an Elections Monitor in ELECAM that had just been created. I worked as an ELECAM Boss in the same Ngoketunjia Division for a year. I felt that was not my calling and resigned to join the SDF. That's how I eventually became Senator.

Cameroon has been through a ravaging Anglophone Crisis for three years and counting. What is your take on the way involved parties have been handling the crisis?

We should call a spade a spade and simply look at the way the Government has been handling the crisis. If the Government had managed the situation correctly, the crisis would not have reached the stage at which it is today. The Government ill managed the crisis and did not foresee the extent to which it would degenerate.  The seriousness of Anglophone problems in this country have not been given the attention it deserves over the years. If they had been appreciating the Anglophone Ill feeling correctly from when we had independence by joining French Cameroon then we should not have had the problems we are facing today. If the Government was doing its job it would have realised that there always have been pockets of resistance to changes that were being made in the Anglophone Coponent. They should have already known from their informants or intelligence that there were ill feelings among Anglophones due to the inconveniences that were being brought to bear upon them. It was exacerbated by the so called 1972 Referendum. The ill feeling grew in leaps and bounds. They can't say they didn't know about these feelings  when on every October 1st they sent out uniformed men to arrest activists of the Southern Cameroons National Council SCNC. You cannot be sending uniformed men to arrest people and in the end you say you were not aware of the existence of a problem. They were arresting the activists because they knew that the message they were carrying could be bought by  the public. When it came to this crisis they should have known that the ground was really hot because it was something that had been boiling for years. They could forsee that there was going to be an explosion right away. They believed time and force would solve it. Unleashing their force on the lawyers beating them in their robes. Lawyers were beaten and locked up in a way that gentlemen should not be treated. From then the situation degenerated to where we find ourselves today.

Cameroonians have been harping on Political Transition. What do you think is the best way to go about this?

For Political Transition to take place, the people in power must aknowledge that it is necessary. If they don't aknowledge the need for Political Transition then it can't work. Transition must have its bases from the constitution which should define the way it should take place. It can therefore take place when they decide to disolve the government and make consultations. Another possibility is for the Head of State to resign with his entire Government thus creating a Power Vacuum. The Constitution will now come into operation to pave a way forward. The Head of State himself could make Transition possible by dissolving the whole Government and constituting a Transitional Government under his rule. That's the only way a transition can come about through the operation of the Constitution. In the absence of this, Political Transition can only take place through the use of force. In such a case, the Constitution will be suspended and everything will be determined by the Military Junta in power. 

Cameroon has seen a series of massacres notably the one in Ngarbuh in Ntumbaw and many contradictory reports have come in. What is your take on this?

When a situation like that occurs, it is usually difficult to know the exact figures. People run into the bushes and it is difficult to determine exactly the number of dead bodies. It is only after an investigation has taken place and all members of the community accounted for that you can arrive at exact figures. One death is not less important than fifty deaths. The death of any single Human being inflicts much pain on the family that loses a loved one. When you have lost a loved one then you will be able appreciate the value of a single life that is lost. When you talk about one death in terms of its effect on a family then it is the same like fifty deaths. 

Who ever is responsible, be it the regular army or the armed Mbororos will have to render account to posterity. If it is the Goverment and they are denying thinking that by doing so they will run away from responsibility, then they are fooling themselves. The point is that it is the duty of the Government to protect the life and property of the its citizens. So when they fail in this responsibility irrespective of who did the killings, they carry the responsibility. Instead of them denying responsibility and pushing it onto people whom we don't know, they should apologise to the Cameroonian people for failing in their duty. If all the killings and destruction of poperty have been carried out by the Amba Fighters as they are called, then it is reason enough for the Army to withdraw and for the Government to resign and aknowledge defeat. 

What is your take on the Twin Elections that just took place in the country?

If we had taken two steps towards Democracy then we have taken about five steps backwards. It is unfortunate that before the present delimna, Southern Cameroons had conducted Free and Fair Elections without any reproach from anybody. It is also unfortunate because if Cameroon has  made five steps backward then the hitherto Southern Cameroonian has made Ten steps backwards. 

If you were to address a message to Armed Separatists what would it be?

I would tell them not to fall in the trap of being accused as the defense forces are being accused on a daily bases. The population they are fighting for is suppossed to be the hen that lays the golden egg. If they are fighting for that population, then they must also do everything to protect that same population. They need not harass that population nor take them into the bushes for ransoms. They must define where they get their finances. They should not lose the confidence of that population that is counting on them for protection. 

What is the way forward for the Social Democratic Front the SDF?

One of the Founding Fathers of the party Justice Nyoh Wakai had foreseen what is happening today.  I sounded a warning within the NEC Forum. This warning was leaked out and it went viral on Social Media though it wasn't intended to. What I was worried about came to pass. We have been winning elections in the past and the population has always been behind us. The Rigging Machinery that has always been in place was always uncovered by the watchful population. The population that we counted on in the past was no longer there. They were running into the bushes. They were not there and we knew that they were not going to be there and we went in for elections. It was unfortunate. The best we should have done was to go in for elections in the eight Regions and we have come out suffering the greatest casualty than other political parties. When High Tides bring fishes ashore, the fishes should be very careful when the tides are dropping. They should make sure they follow the waters back without which they will die.

Les Gens Du Cameroun: Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel: +237678401408/ +237696896001

Ngufor Peter Comments on Cameroon's Political Tantrums in 2020

 

       From the Head of State's End of Year Speech, to the beefed up Security  measures that were deployed prior to the Twin Elections that took place on the 9th of February  2020, and the wide range of massacres  that  followed  in the Northwest Region  and to a smaller  extent in the Southwest  Region, it is according  to  many  observers including  this elite  an indication that the President has actually  followed up with the execution of certain lines of action that he made mention of in his End of year speech.

Since December 2016, Cameroonians have always looked forward to President Biya’s end of year speeches with heightened expectations that he would announce some groundbreaking measures that would lead to the resolution of the crisis rocking the Northwest and Southwest Regions in particular and the general state of dystopia that has progressively pulled the nation to its knees. However, the general public has on each occasion been left wondering if the President was truly aware of the acuteness of the sociopolitical problems that have held the nation hostage. This was how Ngufor Peter, an elite from the Northwest Region of Cameroon viewed it as he took a swipe at the unfolding events since the beginning of 2020.

Looking back at the 2019 End Of Year Speech, he said it did not disappoint in terms of the President’s routine puncture of the people’s expectations. Mixed reactions from Cameroonians across the National Triangle poured in following the End of Year Message of the Head of State President Paul Biya on the 31st of December 2019 even from his own party members.

Commenting on the President's End of Year Speech, Ngufor Peter, CPDM bigwig and Anglophone elite from the Northwest Region of Cameroon called on President Paul Biya to apologise to Cameroonians. He equally called on the Head of State to grant a General Amnesty and release everyone presently detained in relation to the ongoing Anglophone Crisis which is in its fourth year.

Professor Messanga Nyamdig, a staunch Biyaist and permanent member of the CPDM Central Committee, had some hard words for the Speech Writers of the President. www237actu.com reported that Professor Nyamdig did not hold back his thoughts as he gave a very damning appraisal of the contents of Biya’s speech. The site noted that, in an appearance on a local radio station in Yaounde owned by Sismondi Barlev Bidjocka, Nyamdig “demonstrated that he was not won over by the President’s Speech. "Paul Biya has not made any real announcements," the Political Analyst said.

As a recap of the speech, Paul Biya said the military would henceforth show no mercy for those who continued to refuse to surrender and be forgiven.

He said the Military would have no other choice than to combat them in order to protect Cameroonians.  "Our Defense and Security Forces will, once again, perform their duty with restraint, but without weakness. I wish to reassure them of my full support and high esteem."

The President said Cameroonians in the Diaspora were funding violence back home by continuing to buy weapons and called on them to be more patriotic and to refrain from destroying their own country.

Ngufor Peter CEO of Farmer's House and CPDM bigwig from the Northwest Region said the Speech of the President touched on key issues affecting the country including the Security Concerns in the Northwest and Southwest Regions. He said the President also made mention of the fact that Cameroon would experience a new beginning. This he said was the most important aspect of the President's Speech. "This means forgetting and forgiving and opening a new page."

Among other things, Ngufor Peter said the President made mention of the recent Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly and mentioned some bills that were passed. Among these, he said what caught his attention was the bill on Bilingualism and Multiculturalism. A bill which he had admired. "This should have emanated from the constitution of Cameroon and now this has been done," he said adding that "if that commission had existed maybe a few years back, then Cameroon would not have been going through what it is experiencing at the moment."

Marginalisation he said was a huge mistake that Cameroon ignored for too long and only the crisis finally drew the necessary attention to it. He, however, said resorting to war was not good because our armed forces were trained to fight in wars and not to fight against an unarmed population.

He condemned the tendency to refer to a given group of Cameroonians as terrorists. "You don't live with people for over 50 years and you get up one morning and call them terrorists. The so-called terrorists are protestors."

He also questioned the necessity behind the Special Status Bill. "Was it really necessary? I am saying that we should not have allowed the problem to get to that point." He said if equity was applied at all levels then there would never have been the necessity to talk about Francophones and Anglophones.

"Let the armed forces be withdrawn and let Law and Order be handed over to the Police and I am sorry to say it but let me say it, the President should apologise. To apologise doesn't mean that you are weak but simply means that you have seen your errors. The word terrorists should be stopped from being used because there are no terrorists in Cameroon."

On his part, Ni John Fru Ndi, Chairman of the Social Democratic Front said he was scandalized that Biya did not put in place measures to stop the Anglophone Crisis that was in its fourth year.

He said after the Major National Dialogue, Cameroonians expected him to free separatist leader Ayuk Tabe Julius and his collaborators to allow peace to return.

"I expected that in a speech like this he would say Anglophone activists, I pardon you. Now with this Olive Branch that I have extended, can all those in the bushes {fighters} come out let us talk," he said adding that "But Mr. Biya said if you want peace, be prepared for war. I saw in him then that that was somebody who wanted to fight under all costs before his term comes to an end."

 Les Gens Du Cameroun/ Email: francoeko@gmail.com/ Tel: +237678401408/ +237696896001

Le Docteur Fru Richard

L’expert Camerounais en naturopathie. 

Expert principale en matière de naturopathie, aborde des sujets couverts jusqu’à présent.

Le Dr Fru Richard a commencé sa pratique en 1995 à Alaska Street à Kumba. Il a ensuite déménagé à Limbé, toujours dans la région du Sud-Ouest du Cameroun pour poursuivre ce qu'il appelle son processus d'apprentissage. Là, il a pratiqué sous quelqu'un. Curieusement, il n'a pas révélé qu'il savait déjà quelque chose à propos de la pratique de la médecine naturelle. Ses débuts étaient en effet modestes, accompagnés d'une humilité admirable. C'est pourquoi un jour, lorsque son patron l'a entendu lors d'un entretien à la chaîne de radio camerounaise CRTV, il a été agréablement surpris. Il venait de découvrir un traitement pour une éruption cutanée tenace qui avait pris des dimensions épidémiques à l'époque dans certaines régions du Cameroun. On lui a même donné l'occasion de prouver l'efficacité de ses médicaments et il l'a fait. Il commence cette interview par sa première découverte majeure.

"Quand j'ai découvert ce médicament, je l'ai amené dans certains centres de santé et ils se sont tous moqués de moi, décrivant mon médicament comme "cette substance aqueuse" et remettant en question son efficacité. Quand je suis finalement allé à la Délégation régionale de la Santé de la région du Sud-Ouest à À Buea, ils m'ont dit d'emmener des personnes souffrant de l'éruption cutanée redoutée localement appelée "cam no go". Lorsque ces personnes ont été amenées, elles m'ont dit de les faire soigner. Contre toute attente, je les ai fait soigner. Les personnes infectées que je conduisais souffraient de cas avancés d’infection et j’ai laissé une bonne quantité de médicaments aux médecins de la délégation régionale de la santé, dont un responsable de la santé appelé Monsieur Laborious, qui travaille actuellement au Sud-Soudan. Ils m'ont dit de venir après un mois mais je suis venu après une semaine et ils m'ont dit que mes médicaments étaient efficaces. L'Hôpital Régional s'est intéressé et un certain Docteur Mbame l'a utilisé sur des patients à l'hôpital et il s'est avéré efficace. Ce sont eux qui m'ont emmené à la radio et m'ont donné l'occasion de parler de mes médicaments. À la radio, les gens étaient encouragés à se faire soigner à l'hôpital. J'ai ensuite été obligé de déménager à Buea de Limbé.”

Avez-vous déjà eu personnellement des problèmes de santé et en quoi vos connaissances vous ont-elles aidé?

À une certaine époque, j'ai eu des problèmes rénaux et cela est arrivé peu de temps après avoir pris un vaccin. J'étais dirigé vers de nombreux experts et je ne pouvais pas être guéri. Ma situation a dégénéré et mes relations après avoir conclu que j'allais mourir m'ont emmenée à Bamenda pour attendre ma mort. Après des essais infructueux, j'ai tranquillement quitté Bamenda et suis retourné à Mile 16 à Buea. C'est à ce stade que j'ai décidé de me demander pourquoi je n'avais pas cherché en moi une solution à mes problèmes de santé. J'ai commencé à prendre mes propres médicaments et en deux semaines, j'ai été guérie. C'est à ce moment que j'ai décidé de m'installer à Mile 17 à Buea en 1997.

Votre établissement a certainement grandi et transformé au fil des années.

Il a tout d'abord été connu par le nom Garden of Eden Medicinal Herbs Center for All. Quand je me suis établi là-bas, j'ai planté un jardin. La plupart du temps, je produisais mes médicaments et je me rendais à Limbe, à Kumba et à Tiko pour des promotions et des ventes. Au début, je donnais des conférences publiques en utilisant des plantes tout le temps. À partir de là, j'ai évolué et j'ai finalement commencé à écrire des livres pour que les gens puissent être informés. Il n'y avait pas de stations de radio FM. Toute annonce diffusée était diffusée dans tout le pays. Les gens ont quitté Nkambe et sont venus se faire soigner chez moi à Buea. À partir de là, nous avons commencé à ouvrir des cliniques car les gens voulaient que je me rapproche d’eux. Nous avons ouvert des cliniques à Kumba, Limbé,  Douala, etc., et le nom de ma clinic a été changé pour GENACAM Garden of Eden Natural Clinic Cameroun. En 2003, nous avons adopté le nom GENIWA, Garden of Eden Natural Clinic of West Africa. C'était enregistré comme une ONG.

Nous comprenons que votre recrudescence sur le terrain a créé beaucoup d’envie parmi les autres pratiquants à cette époque.

Oui. Il est arrivé que, lors de consultations, des clients, dont des gouverneurs, se rendaient dans ma clinique. Cela a créé beaucoup d'animosité entre moi et les autres pratiquants principalement plus âgés. Au lieu de venir près de moi pour apprendre, ils ont plutôt essayé de me tuer. À la fin des années quatre-vingt-dix, en 1998 et 1999 en particulier, des journaux comme "The Watchman" contenaient des articles sur les attaques contre ma vie. Vous pouvez trouver des articles sur la page de couverture qui se déroulent comme suit: "Les médecins traditionnels veulent le sang du docteur Fru." Lors de l'une de ses sorties, mon chauffeur est tombé sur quelqu'un qui lui a fait part d’un complot de me prendre la vie. Ils sont venus chez moi et m'ont tout divulgué. J'ai écrit une plainte et l'ai présentée à Njikam Aboubakar, le Sous Prefet de Buea à l'époque, et l'ai transmise au commandant de brigade de la gendarmerie. La vérité a finalement été découverte et certains d'entre eux ont été capturés dans des quartiers de Buea comme Bolifamba et ont été forcés de prendre un engagement. Ce sont quelques-unes des batailles que j'ai eues avec d’autres pratiquants.

Quelle est la principale différence entre votre pratique et celle d'un docteur en médecine?

Dans notre domaine, nous détenons plus de pouvoir que les médecins. La source du pouvoir réside chez les médecins traditionnels et pour obtenir ce genre de pouvoir, ils ont besoin de notre aide. Le pouvoir du docteur traditionnel vient des plantes et avec des plantes il peut faire beaucoup de choses. Voir quelqu'un réussir longtemps dans la pratique traditionnelle signifie que la personne est vraiment forte.

Selon vous, quels ont été les principaux changements survenus dans votre domaine de pratique au fil des années?

Lorsque j'ai commencé, vous pouviez vous déplacer dans toutes les villes du Cameroun sans trouver un jeune homme pratiquant la médecine traditionnelle. Vous ne pouviez pas trouver quelqu'un avec des idées révolutionnaires et un revivaliste comme moi. Au fil des ans, il y a eu un changement de mentalité et d'éducation. Certains d'entre eux me rencontrent maintenant et s'excusent même. Certains ont reconnu que j'avais changé de portefeuille et qu'ils pouvaient désormais aller quelque part et parler avec des têtes hautes. Certains m'ont dit que mon éducation a changé la façon dont les gens perçoivent ceux qui pratiquent la médecine traditionnelle. Nous sommes maintenant respectés partout où nous allons et vous pouvez maintenant trouver des jeunes dans la pratique. Ils pratiquent et se déplacent maintenant librement dans le monde entier. Des pasteurs autrefois ignorants ont commencé à prier et à réprimander les mauvais esprits qu'ils sentaient habiter en nous. Maintenant les pasteurs et les prêtres savent mieux. Cela montre l'importance d'une bonne éducation et son effet sur la façon dont les gens voient la pratique. Nous avons préparé le terrain pour la pratique traditionnelle et le paysage est maintenant clair pour quiconque veut pratiquer. J'appelle beaucoup plus de gens à y participer. Plus nous y sommes et parlons d'une seule voix, plus nous serons écoutés et plus nous établirons de règles pour rendre la pratique saine. Cela nous permettra de voir la croissance de la médecine traditionnelle et sa contribution au développement. .

Malgré les difficultés que vous avez traversées. Vous avez certainement acquis continuellement des connaissances pour maintenir ce croissance.

Même à l'époque pendant mes études, mon professeur de biologie m'avait toujours qualifié de Thomas doutant. J'ai toujours voulu voir avant de croire. Cette approche a inffluencé la façon dont j'ai acquis des connaissances sur le terrain au fil des années. J'ai observé, écouté et rassemblé des informations auprès de mes patients sur les médicaments que je leur ai donnés au fil des années. Au fil des années, ma banque d'informations s'est améliorée. Sur cette base, je connais le domaine d'action du médicament que je donne à mes patients. Les résultats ont été merveilleux. Un patient pourrait venir par exemple et dire au docteur que j'ai un problème rénal mais que tout en le traitant, d'autres maladies ont été guéries. Les patients ont ensuite révélé ces faits et j'ai toujours stocké ces faits, les notant toujours afin de découvrir des dizaines de maladies que je ne savais jamais que mes médicaments pourraient guérir. Vous n'avez pas toujours besoin d'aller faire d'autres études avec qui que ce soit. Au cours des vingt-cinq dernières années, j'ai été très enthousiaste pour noter de nouvelles découvertes. J'ai également noté les effets secondaires négatifs depuis le début et je poursuis toujours ces cas avec des enquêtes qui tentent de savoir pourquoi, chez certains patients, les médicaments vont réagir de manière particulière.

Vous avez commencé à voyager hors du pays après quelques années. Pouvez vous nous éclairer?

Oui, j'ai commencé à voyager hors du pays mais seulement en Afrique. J'ai reçu de nombreuses invitations à visiter des régions du monde, mais j'ai toujours limité mes voyages sur le continent africain. Des gens ont même proposé de payer mes vols mais j'ai toujours refusé. Mon intention est d'aider les peuples du continent africain. Tout d'abord, je suis allé au Nigéria et mon produit "Try Me" a été enregistré en tant que marque de commerce en 2018 auprès du gouvernement fédéral du Nigéria, il y a environ 11 ans. Je suis allé en Guinée Conakry, au Ghana, entre autres, pour assister à des séminaires. On m'a proposé un poste d'enseignant en Guinée Conakry dans l'une des universités et mon salaire était de six cent mille FCFA par mois, mais je l'ai refusé. Je n'étais censé donner que deux cours par mois, mais je n'ai jamais voulu y rester et mon vol aller-retour en Guinée Conakry était supérieur à ce montant. J'étais tellement inspiré au Ghana, où la phytothérapie est très avancée alors que j'assistais à une conférence mondiale sur le VIH / SIDA. J'ai rencontré de nombreux professeurs du monde entier. En raison de l'expérience que j'ai acquise, je travaille maintenant sur la possibilité de guérir les gens à distance avec des plantes. Au lieu d'utiliser des plantes de manière négative comme certains l'ont fait. Certaines personnes parlent de plantes en utilisant votre code et réussissent à vous nuire. Cela peut être utilisé positivement. Je crois que dans cinq ans ou moins, je serais venu avec un autre système de guérison à distance, utilisant les mêmes connaissances que d'autres utilisent pour causer le mal, mais cette fois-ci, pour de bonnes intentions.

 

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