Cameroon: Lawyers Stage Nationwide Strike to Condemn Rising Police Brutality

By Ngunyi Sonita Nwohtazie

BUEA, Cameroon – Cameroon's legal community has launched a three-day nationwide strike in response to repeated violence against lawyers by police and gendarmes. The decision was announced in a press release signed on March 3 by Batonnier Mbah Eric Mbah, President of the Cameroon Bar Association.

According to the statement, the strike which began on March 5 and is expected to end on March 7, is due to the circulation of videos on social media showing police officers physically assaulting a lawyer and other civilians. Beyond this incident, the Bar Council also received reports of another lawyer being unlawfully detained and pressured to withdraw statements condemning human rights violations.

In protest, lawyers have suspended the wearing of robes and boycotted court proceedings for three days. The strike is aimed at demanding justice, ensuring better protection for legal professionals, and advocating for reforms that guarantee lawyers can work without fear of intimidation, violence, or repression.

“I think that the Cameroon Bar Association had taken steps to ensure that we are not where we are now. But there have been several brutalities against lawyers and we think that lawyers and citizens have the right to be protected by the state,” Barrister Nouveliza Eta-Besong Njiminoh President of Fako Lawyer’s Association FAKLA explains.

“We have opened several channels of dialogue through our Bar Association and it has not worked. Maybe if we sit away from the court, they will be a reflection as to the need for us to be treated properly.”

“Every society upholds the rights of its citizens talk less of the rights of advocates who are the voice of the voiceless. I think that the BAR council just cried the voice of all its members to say that enough is enough,” she added.

With too much power in the hands of the forces of law and order, the lawyers have called for restrictions as the matter is a call for concern. Barrister Nouveliza Eta-Besong added: “There is no need for the military, police officers or Gendarmes to get brutal not only with lawyers but even with citizens. They are first to educate about wrong then follow due process to bring those who go against the law.”

“There is no reason why in a civilised society like ours, people should be brutalized and talk less of lawyers who are ministers in the territory of justice. That is why we decided to sit in with the decision taken by the Cameroon Bar Association' she reiterates.”

The strike will automatically conclude on March 7, 2025, without the need for further formalities unless the Cameroon Bar Association deems it necessary. “A strike action is not always to get something concrete at first instance but rather it could be to sensitize the power that is at the highest level that there is an issue that the community is facing,” Barrister Nouvelliza Eta-Besong emphasized.

“So, we think that the powers that be should reflect and put an end to this embarrassment. Failure to look into the situation then we should be asking ourselves if we are in an independent state or a state of law.”

This action by the Cameroon Bar Association underscores their solidarity and commitment to defending the integrity of the legal profession. Lawyers hope that after this demonstration, their rights will be upheld, and they will no longer face mistreatment or brutality from law enforcement.