By Noela EBOB BISONG
Cameroon’s ministry of Defence and Security has been the centre of discussion recently, following swing actions which have fallen heavily on some of its elements and prospective ones.
In a drastic move, four student non-commissioned officers, who were undergoing training at the centre for Senior non-commissioned officers, have been dismissed for “notorious misconduct”. Njinchout Abana El Jamil, Njiawouo Isaac Chancelier, Fifen Ousseni and Nchouwet Patrice Legrand have had their enlistment contracts terminated by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo. The dismissal is the substance of a correspondence released last June 10, 2024.
Following amateur videos which went viral online sparking hot debates for days, the four are remembered to have paid military honours to a traditional ruler last December 23, 2023.
Close to six months after, sanctions have followed the action which the ministry considered a display of indiscipline.
Early this year, Joseph Beti Assomo, while receiving New Year wishes had hinted that there must be more discipline within the defence and security forces to be able to meet the numerous challenges at hand. “Discipline is not a cliché or a slogan but the main strength of the armed forces. This is why, while I congratulate the High Command on its firmness in monitoring the discipline of the men under its authority in 2023, I ask it to be even more demanding and uncompromising in this area in 2024”, he had said.
He had also signal that the axe will fall on all those who “in defiance of military regulations, perform acts…or allegiance to personalities other than those provided for in military regulations, all acts of deviance or defiance that could cast doubt on their loyalty to the institutions of the Republic and those who embody them”. According to Defence boss, the verdict is backed by Law No80/12 of 14/07/1980, on the general statutes of the military and Decree No2007/199of 07/07/2007, on general discipline regulations in the defence force.
1,312 fake certificates detected in ongoing defence recruitment
A Press Release dated June 11 and signed by Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo, indicates that, “as part of the ongoing process of recruiting young Gendarmes and soldiers into the Cameroonian Defence Forces for the financial year 2024, the appropriate checks to authenticate the certificates of the candidates selected for the thorough medical examination conducted prior to the publication of the final admission results, have led to the discovery of many false qualifications…”.
According to the Press Release, a total of 1,312 fake certificates were uncovered, which comprise of 1 fake GCE Advanced Level, 12 fake Probatoire, 64 fake GCE Ordinary Level, 491 BEPC from Cameroon, 661 fake BEPC from a neighbouring country and 83 fake CAP certificates.
“The files of all the forgers detected have been removed from the lists, without prejudice to the repressive legal measures in force”
This recent detection follows that of August 2022, where 929 trainee soldiers were dismissed for forging certificates.
According to Defence boss, “The investigators of tomorrow and the defenders of law and order cannot be, before entering the house, delinquents with false diplomas, while other young Cameroonians deserving and holders of authentic diplomas are left at the door, during competitions and recruitments. I say it bluntly, zero tolerance will be required in this matter”.