17 Other UB Students in Court Today 31 July Some 17 students of the University of Buea are due to appear before judges of the Buea court of First instance today July 31 2013 for the continuation of hearings in connection with the February 6 2013 student unrest. (This case is unconnected to the one that saw the court jailing a student leader and then discharging 15 others). The student leaders be heard include, Njungwe Marcel, Ayuk Tabe Vitalis,Fritz Enonji, Suh Ngwa, Wabi Franklin, all detained at the Buea Central Prison for more than two months now. Student leader Sigala Remy now serving an 18 month jail term is also involved in this first case. An ADDEC official, Nanfack Alex who travelled to Buea to investigate the alleged death of a certain Ngu Lawrence, UBSU’s interim President Minang Roland and the rest of the students who are on bail are due to be grilled by the Buea Court of First instance, making a total of 18 student leaders. The 17 UB students have been charged with the destruction of University property and for taking the VC, Dr Nalova Lyonga hostage, amongst other charges, while the charge against ADDEC’s emissary Nanfack Alex remains unclear. We have so far learnt from reliable sources at the Buea court that but for last minute changes, the judges a reportedly preparing to cancel the bail earlier granted Minang Ronald and the others and then remand them in custody following purported pressure from the UB and the South West administrations and some security forces who are bent on seeing the students jailed. During the just ended governor’s conference, SW Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai said the administration was not interfering in the court case or the university crisis but would always provide security forces if the University authorities deem it necessary. Reliable sources are hinting that some of the witnesses notably some security men are reportedly being offered petrol bons and other benefits by the University hierarchy to encourage them testify against the students. Some university sources denied the claims arguing that the court was acting independently. The University of Buea students Union, UBSU on its facebook page, called on students to be ‘vigilant’ and for the international community to follow up the trial which it ‘is seeing as some sort of muzzling of Student Unionism in Cameroon.’ Jailed Student in Poor Health In the same statement UBSU said the jailed student leader; Sigala Remy is not in good health. They quote prison sources as saying, he is suffering from nose bleeding, running stomach and is growing weak and frail.’ UBSU added that the Buea prison dispensary which it says is ‘ill equipped has not been able to give him appropriate treatment.’ At the time of writing this post, family members to the detained student leader confirmed that Sigala Remy was sick though prison officials, notably the Superintendant Mbime Lazare promised studying the possibility of sending him to hospital. Today’s trial of the student we learnt would be in-camera as in previous ones.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 01:42:56 +0000
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