By Neba-Fuh
When the court session reconvenes to hear the flimsy case about a
hardworking science teacher, Roland Fube, who was arrested and tortured
by agents of the Yaounde regime, under a flimsy excuse that he was
insulting or planning to assassinate the 'head of state' or whatever,
genuine patriots will ponder and fathom how mean, intolerant, and
cowardly this oligarchy has become.
The fate of Mr Fube will be decided by a Judge in a judicial system whose measure of justice leaves much to be desired. The charge against him is 'contempt against the president' whatever that means? His 'crime' is: complaining while in a taxi about the freezing of activities in the city, anytime the 'head of state' is 'visiting' Cameroun from abroad.
The case of Roland Fube reminds us of the dictatorial regime of Biya's predecessor, Ahmadou Ahidjo. An era when talking or writing anything against the 'head of state' or anything that had to do with his policies was a crime that merited extrajudicial killing. An era when ' the walls had ears' and your relative or colleague could be your 'traitor' ; your punishment death, or sometimes indefinite detention in hellish prisons. It was an era of declared dictatorship manned by a dictator whose 'vision' was to develop a young nation in an environment void of any opposition.
Today, anyone who condones or misses the Ahidjo era, is not as a result of tolerance to autocracy, but an indicator of how worse Biya's rule is. A system where freedom of expression or freedom of press is rationed not because of any developmental vision that will be bequeathed to the generations to come, but because of egocentric interests that have nothing whatsoever to do with patriotism.
A system where civil liberties have become civil bondage, resulting to young men being gunned down haphazardly anytime they commune to ask for their daily bread, and nobody is held accountable by the courts. A struggling citizen has been dragged to court for complaining about the realism of the system. A system where freedoms and liberties are rationed to lure Western 'con masters' from the 'Debt Revival Club' into 'debt' cancellation. A system where murderers graduate from prisons before their due time, just because they belong...frustrating those few judges who dispense justice in accordance with the law and their conscience.
The trial of Mr Roland Fube will be an opportunity for the judge to use his patriotic conscience and apply the law, even if under pressure from the dictatorial regime. There is no doubt that a court worthy of its calibre will dismiss such a case. It is an infringement on liberty of expression. On the other hand, those who considered Fube's 'unbridled' utterances 'outrageous', should disprove the truthfulness of his claims or complaints? Has the dictator become a 'sacred cow' where idol-like reverence is obligated as a part of his worship? How will the people survive the wrath of this monster-the unrepentant monster of dictatorship?
Comments