After Nfon V.E Mukete lashed out at the regime in the senate during the first ordinary session of Cameroon’s parliament for 2019, speaking the undiluted truth on the situation of Anglophones in Cameroon and the current socio political war that has been on for two years now, audacious SDF senator, Barrister Kemende Henry Gamsey added his voice to that of the elderly state man, stirring a guilty conscience filled senate house into serious grumblings. There have however been some controversies on what really transpired, from various lips and media outlets. In a telephone chat with The SUN, Senator Kemende paints the picture of what actually transpired at the senate. He spoke to The SUN’s Sah Terence Animbom
Senator it is on some lips and media outlets that you got into a physical confrontation with colleagues at the senate. Did the people’s senator punch anyone on the face?
A colleague met me at the rostrum and asked that I surrender the microphone. I refused and he regained his seat. You know, you journalists have your style of attracting readership. If that is physical confrontation then yes it happened.
What exactly transpired at the senate that fateful day?
Thanks for the interest. The story goes that it was question time for the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development on the Bill on Petroleum Exploitation. I took the floor and stated that I have got three questions for the Minister but that before posing my questions, it is important that I, on my behalf and on behalf of the SDF Senators in the Senate, make an observation with regard to the crisis in the NW and SW Regions whose territory shall be used for the petroleum exploitation through contracts which shall be signed after this Bill becomes Law upon promulgation.
I said that having regard to the sociological situation in the two Regions, I don’t think that petroleum exploitation shall be conducted with blood spilling on daily basis. Furthermore, I expressed the concern of some Senators who accuse us (off session) of not informing them about the exact happenings in the Anglophone Regions of our country. I then said that before delving into my three questions for the Minister, I will seek leave of the Senate President to permit me address some pertinent issues concerning the crisis. I went on to state that we of the SDF hold strongly the opinion that amidst a crisis situation whereby evil men take the central stage, the problem isn’t with the evil men but with the good people who stay silent.
Furthermore, that the truth hurts those who want to hide it and that it is our duty as the people’s representatives to lay bare the truth for the Government to use it whichever way they desire. I thereafter proceeded to say that the Anglophone crisis is like a hernia of the scrotum that we have regularly been adjusting the trousers to accommodate it and that it has got to a point whereby the trousers can no longer be adjusted else the trousers become a skirt, reason why it is high-time we incised the said hernia.
I told the Senators that having taken us from all over the nation, it is important that by the time we disperse as it would soon happen, we should have a feel of what obtains in each Region. I told them that the Senators from the indigenous Anglophone Regions are all internally displaced persons (IDPs) who can’t return to their Regions owing to the crisis. I informed the House that in the NW and SW Regions, living is an exception and dying is the rule, that human lives no longer have value in those two Regions.
I informed colleagues that the situation has gone off hands to a point whereby in the two Regions, it is recorded that during Security Meetings, after report is given of military field activities of killings and destruction of property, an Administrative Officer is overheard instructing the military in the following words, “IL FAUT CONTINUER AVEC LE RATISSAGE” meaning they should continue with the SCORCH-EARTH POLICY. I said I thought scorch-earth policy is usually carried out in a foreign country and that now that it is within the country, what is the objective to be attained with people who call themselves “brothers and sisters”?
I went further to outline some atrocities allegedly committed by the military in furtherance of that scorch-earth policy, namely, in NONI where two minors and an adult were allegedly asked by the military to dig their own grave wherein they were subsequently shot and buried; in MBATU where a landmine was allegedly planted under a female corpse by the military. It later exploded and wounded relations as they came to collect the corpse for burial; I mentioned the case of BAMUNKUMBIT in the Balikumbat Subdivision where it is alleged soldiers burnt the market and destroyed any good-looking house as they passed to Balikumbat.
I mentioned the case of Balikumbat itself where a quarter was allegedly torched by the military and one Jarvis NJEAH, one time interim District Chairman of the Social Democratic Front party for the Balikumbat Electoral District was shot and killed in an attempt to escape dying by fire. I talked of an incident whereby it is alleged that upon the soldiers arriving, some villagers of Kendem at a palm oil mill ran abandoning a baby that was later on collected and thrown into hot red oil.
I said that these allegations are due investigation and reporting to Cameroonians. As some CPDM Senators started a process to disrupt my presentation, I asked the Senate President to remind the Head of State that in handling the ongoing crisis, there are two categories of persons that he should avoid around him, namely, PRAISE SINGERS (GRIOS) and PERSONS EXPECTING FAVOURS from him. As the pressure from CPDM Senators for me to stop talking increased, I reminded the Senate House that the indigenous Anglophones are the only Cameroonians who became Cameroonians by choice, so much so that their problem requires special attention each time it arises.
I asked if there is any other category of Cameroonians who have influenced issues like the territorial boundary, the flag, the form of State, national days and even multipartism in this country the way the Anglophones have done such that their problems should be considered the same like others. I ended up by proposing the only solution to guarantee peace, namely, acknowledge our failures and errors and be remorseful about them. From then, the healing process may begin for the way forward.
Coming to my questions, I had three questions, namely, what benefits for the local population as regards a petroleum exploitation contract such as reduction in the prices of petroleum products in order to avoid the current scenario whereby petrol is more expensive in LIMBE than DOUALA.
The second question had to do with the IMPLEMENTATION DECREE of the Bill once adopted and why the content of such DECREE can’t be included in the present Bill for onward adoption in its entirety. The third and last question had to do with the criminal jurisdiction of the Minister in charge of Hydrocarbons. I asked why the Bill should give him criminal jurisdiction in place of the Law Courts and where lies the appellate jurisdiction of the Minister’s jurisdiction.
So that is basically how it went down Terence.
Thanks for your wonderful time Honorable
You are welcome.