By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, PAV – Venerated Human rights advocate Nkongho Felix Agbor, popularly known as Agbor Balla, has condemned the persistent failure of Cameroon’s Higher Judicial Council to convene for the past six years, describing the situation as a grave institutional lapse with serious consequences for the rule of law and judicial independence.
In the statement shared with Pan African Visions, Agbor Balla recalls that the Higher Judicial Council is a constitutionally mandated body responsible for overseeing the careers, discipline, integration and ethical regulation of magistrates. Its prolonged inactivity, he argues, has effectively paralysed these core functions and left the justice system severely weakened.
One of the most damaging effects of this paralysis, according to Agbor Balla, is the continued non-integration of magistrates who graduated from the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) over the last six years. Without formal integration and the taking of the judicial oath, these graduates are legally barred from handling cases or examining files, creating what he describes as an “alarming vacuum” in courts across the country.
Cameroon is currently grappling with a serious shortage of magistrates, a situation that has resulted in overburdened courts, growing case backlogs, prolonged pre-trial detention and widespread delays in the delivery of justice. Agbor Balla stated that justice cannot function effectively when there are insufficient judicial officers to hear cases, adding that the non-integration of trained magistrates while courts remain understaffed is both irrational and detrimental to the justice system.
According to Agbor Balla, many of these graduates will eventually require extensive refresher training before they can serve effectively, given the years lost waiting for integration.
Beyond the impact on magistrates, the situation has also affected citizens’ access to justice. Vacancies created by the death, retirement or disengagement of magistrates have gone unfilled, leading to what the human rights advocate calls “embarrassing” stopgap appointments whose legal basis is questionable. He cites cases where judges have been appointed to administrative courts without the opinion of the Higher Judicial Council, despite its exclusive constitutional prerogative in such matters.
Agbor Balla, who is the founder of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA, warned that allegations of misconduct cannot be properly addressed in the absence of oversight. He argues that while honest magistrates are demoralised by the situation, corruption and impunity are allowed to thrive.
Equally troubling, he says, is the continued service of magistrates who reached retirement age more than five years ago. Approximately 150 magistrates are due for retirement but remain in office without formal extensions, raising growing concerns about the legality of their judicial acts.
This, he contrasts with the nearly 300 trained young magistrates still awaiting integration. “This situation is manifestly unjust and reflects an entrenched culture of gerontocracy within the justice system,” Agbor Balla said.
Beyond the judiciary itself, Agbor Balla warns of broader democratic implications. The prolonged silence surrounding the inactivity of such a pivotal constitutional body, he says, signals a dangerous erosion of institutional governance and undermines the principle of separation of powers. For citizens, Agbor Balls says the consequences are delayed justice, declining judicial efficiency and diminishing trust in the courts. “A weakened judiciary inevitably weakens democracy and undermines the rule of law.”
Calling for urgent action, Agbor Balla insists that the Higher Judicial Council must be convened without delay to regularise the integration of magistrates, address court shortages, restore accountability, and safeguard the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
“Cameroon cannot claim to uphold the rule of law while allowing one of the pillars of judicial governance to remain inactive for six years. The time to act is now,” he said.
