CameroonPostline --Former Minister of Basic Education, Mrs. Haman Adama, who has been languishing in pre-trial detention at the Kondengui prison in Yaounde since 2010, seems to have been denied freedom after she refunded the FCFA 369 million she and some of her collaborators were accused of having embezzled. Haman Adama, under the guide of her lawyers, paid back the money recently, as provided by article 18 of the Special Criminal Court. According to these provision, the court stops prosecution against any suspect who refunds the money he or she is accused of having embezzled. Haman Adama was arrested on January 7, 2010 with some of her collaborators. But, it was not until Tuesday, June 11, that the matter began at the Special Criminal Court. One of the lawyers of the erstwhile Minister, Barrister Atangana Ayissi argued that after paying the money she was accused of embezzling, his client was supposed to be left off the hook of prosecution immediately. The fact that the court is insisting to go on with the matter, he said, is denying the former Minister freedom. He said by insisting to go on with the matter, the court was running counter to the spirit of the law because the legislator’s intention in article 18, is to encourage people who embezzle public funds to bring them back. He argued that the court was not supposed to start hearing of the matter, even if the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals had not written to it. The Post learnt that the amount the erstwhile Minister paid back to the state was far less than the amount she and other accused persons are accused of having embezzled. According to the prosecution, more than FCFA 386 million was embezzled. Thus, a circa FCFA 94.8 million attributed some two accused person is still expected to be paid. Some FCFA 75 million was expected to be paid by one accused person, Blaise Lebongo, who unfortunately died recently. A sum of FCFA 19.8 million is expected to be paid by one Joseph Mekoungou Ondoua, who is the only accused person without a lawyer. He told the court that he did not have any money to hire a lawyer, nor was he able to pay back the money he was accused of having embezzled. Haman Adama’s lawyers said the fact that some accused persons are unable to refund the amounts of money they have been accused of having embezzled, should not have a negative bearing on their client who has refunded all the money attributed to her. Barrister Atangana Ayissi urged the court to stop any proceedings against Haman Adama because she has not paid only the amount that was attributed to her, but has also gone ahead to pay for several other co-accused persons in the matter. The prosecution took exception to the submissions of the Defence Counsel. The State Counsel accused the Defence of interpreting article 18 in a very parochial manner to suit their whims and caprices and stir confusion in court. He said article 18 of the law creating the Special Criminal Court, makes it very clear that once a suspect refunds the money he or she is accused of having embezzled, the prosecution may stop proceedings after receiving a notification letter from the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals. To him, the word may, is an indication that the prosecution is not obliged to do so immediately. He said the paying back of embezzled funds by the accused is an administrative procedure and has nothing to do with the hearing of the matter in court. To him, the refund of embezzled state funds does not automatically signal a stop of proceedings against the accused person in court. According to the Defence lawyers, the court should respect the jurisprudence it established in the Yves Michel Fotso case. The former Provisional Administrator of the defunct Cameroon Airlines, CAMAIR,Yves Michel Fotso, refunded close to FCFA one billion to the state treasury and the Special Criminal Court immediately stopped prosecuting him in one of the cases. After listening to arguments from both sides, the presiding Judge, Justice Yap Abdou suspended the session and adjourned the matter to July 11. The former Minister of Basic Education is facing trial alongside some 15 co-accused persons. They include Annick Joelle Malonga Isoa, the former sub Director of Budget and Material in that Ministry, Mvondo Nyina, the former Secretary General of the UNESCO Commission in that Ministry and the erstwhile Director of Financial Resources and Material, Francois Fouda. Others include Richard Walayi, the Ministry’s Tenders’ Board Commission former Chair and the former Regional Delegate of Basic Education for the Centre, Rene Enoa Nomo.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:41:24 +0000
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