By Elah Geoffrey Mbongale
Barrister Oliver Michael Inglis, retired Judge and arguable the finest legal brain in the country was laid to eternal rest on Friday, March 17, 2017 in Buea in the presence of thousands of Lawyers, his fellow Catholic Church Molyko parishioners and a host of friends.
The crop of lawyers that bid farewell to the legal luminary included the current President of the Cameroon Bar Council, Barrister Jackson Ngnie Kamga, former presidents; Luc Senze, Achere Muna, Ben Muna and Eta Bisong Jr. and current Bar General Assembly President, Barrister Nico Halle amongst other dignitaries.
After the remains of Barrister Inglis were ferried from the Buea Regional Hospital mortuary to the South West Regional Court of Appeal, Buea for Judicial honours, the procession filed into the St. Charles Lwanga Catholic church, Molyko, Buea where Rev. Fr. Bernard Asek during the requiem mass drew from the Gospel according to Mathew 5:1-9 and called on the mourners to seek spiritual fulfillments rather than earthly pleasures
He described Barrister Inglis as someone who has lived a fulfilled life. According to Rev. Fr. Asek, Barrister Inglis was a very reliant, generous, peace-loving and social person who had respect for his clients and remained incorruptible. He urged other young lawyers to follow in his footsteps; to respect their clients and not rip them off.
He warned those who are gearing up for an eventual fight over Barrister Inglis’ property that they should hold their horses because he has the Will which will be handed over to the courts for execution. Until then, he said, Late Barrister Inglis’ property will remain sealed and nobody will be allowed to tamper with it.
The reverend Father however saluted the efforts of lawyers who have gone through Barrister Iglis’ tutelage and other lawyers who contributed to the funeral of a man who left his native country, Ste. Lucie (Antilles) some 55 years ago to settle in Cameroon and later naturalized as a patriotic citizen.
The President of the Cameroon Bar Council, Barrister Ngnie Kamga said the justice system of Cameroon cannot be complete without the mention of the name Barrister O.M. Inglis. “He was a human library of our most cherished Common Law and adviser of Cameroon Law in General.”
“Barrister O.M. Inglis was a member of the Cameroon Bar Association…he was a gentleman par excellence and a member of many communities in the development of our laws. I saw in him an engaging personality, with effective disciplinary skills and the ability to promote positive behaviours amongst lawyers….In him I learnt that great men don’t die because their legacy lives, I can only equate him with lawyers that made the world a better place than they met it.” Ngnie Kamga added.
The Bar General Assembly President, Barrister Nico Halle described Barrister O.M. Inglis as not just a legal icon but also a spiritual man who was very unassuming, polite, humble and very loving. He used the occasion to call for mutual respect amongst lawyers. He urged them to shun witch-hunting and respect senior colleagues and mentors.
Barrister Tanyi Mbi, first legal product of Barrister Inglis, described him as a learned legal legend, “A man who lived with us, trained us, dressed us, fed us, taught us, advised and accommodated us left..but his spirit will live with us forever.”
Speaking on behalf of his family that couldn’t make it to the funeral from Ste Lucie, Former JCI President, Roland Nkwaimain, who had formed a bond with the family back home extended their thanks and appreciation to the judicial family and Cameroonians for hosting Barrister O.M. Inglis and taking him as family. He expressed their regret of not being able to travel to Cameroon due to what they termed ‘security’ reasons.
Barrister Oliver Michael Inglis was born in 1930 at Castries, Ste. Lucie (Antilles) he moved to England for further studies and was called to the Bar in June 1954. A year later, he moved to Cameroon and settled in Buea and worked as Secretary General – West Cameroon House of Assembly. In 1970, he was posted to the Legal department and appointed Vice President of the Court of Appeal, North West two years after. Three years later, O.M. Inglis served in the same capacity in the South West Province. In 1986, he was appointed member of the drafting commission of the Penal Procedure Code and in a year later appointed Advocate General, North West Province. He retired as Vice President, Court of Appeal, North West Province before enrolling in the Cameroon Bar in 1993. He was a part time lecturer in Civil Procedure at the University of Buea and an enrolled Defense Counsel ICTR, ARUSHA.