Christopher Jator Njechu
25 April 2008
The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, John Fru Ndi, is due to appear before the Bafoussam High Court.
He is expected to respond to a defamation charge levelled against him and the SDF party by the Provincial Chairman of the SDF for the West, Romuald Tamo.
The case, due to unfold, May 7 is the logical consequence of a recent decision by the party's National Executive Committee, NEC, suspending Romuald Tamo as Provincial Chairman and his Assistant, Edouard Mboulefack, for what it considered "illegal activities". The decision-making organ of the party slammed the suspension against the duo following a joint motion from both local militants and supporters of the party in that province.
Romuald Tamo said he is taking the party's Chairman to court for secretly manipulating local militants and supporters of the party to clamour for his suspension. He also accuses Fru Ndi of sponsoring the publication and subsequent broadcast by the media of the document "Lettre des Hauts Cadres du SDF Ouest aux Militants de Base" (Letter of West SDF Executives to Militants at the Base) in which its authors recommended NEC to "urgently reorganise the West provincial executive..." and calling on the party's militants at the base to "massively support the motion" purported to be against him.
But the Secretary General of the SDF, Dr. Elizabeth Tamanjong, has, however, indicated that despite attempts to admonish him, instead Tamo went on to abet the wrangling by pointing accusing fingers at party officials.
The fact that the erstwhile Provincial Chairman pronounced the crisis at a NEC meeting in Bamenda which could normally be aired by his spokesperson raised distrust and created an aura of suspicion, a situation declared "illegal" and out of the regulations by the decision-making organ of the frontline opposition party during its January 21, 2008, meeting in Bamenda. The meeting equally slammed the sanction which Tamo contends.
Another act that might have courted him the sanction was the decision to highlight grievances which he purported to be from the party's grassroots at a NEC meeting only on the eve of the July 2007 twin elections.
But Tamo argued these grievances ought to have been exposed and discussed later at a NEC meeting in Bamenda on October 27 last year, "in order to withhold the greater likelihood that they became volatile sources of disputes within the party," but was surprised when simply reminded he was not the spokesperson for the province.
Contrary to a document earlier presented by the plaintiff, Dr. Elizabeth Tamanjong made the disclosure that the decision suspending both the Provincial Chairman and his Assistant did not integrate the application of Article 8(2) of the party's constitution rather than in accordance with the expressed demands as well as aspirations of the party's local militants and supporters. "There are better preoccupations for the SDF rather than follow militants to court," the SDF Scribe lamented.
She, nevertheless, deplored the fact that the former Provincial Chairman should resort to judicial handling of the matter instead of trying to solve the matter at party level if he were a true militant and democrat. Albeit he refutes that his activities were in conformity with the regulations of the party, officials of the party in Yaounde, they were never intended for the sanity of the party.
In spite of all these, a militant of the SDF in Bafoussam central confided to The Post that Romuald Tamo was at real loggerhead both with his comrades and sympathisers of the party there who have reportedly bemoaned his attitudes as well as reaction.
Romuald Tamo was elected to manage affairs of the party for the West province on March 4, 2006, in replacement of Etienne Sonkin, then Major of Dschang. But Tamo alleges that since he took over affairs of the party until recently his term has been riddled with infighting for the post, a consequent war of succession led by his party comrades.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Post. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
