CI-NEWS

Must we wait for people to die before conflict resolution? Barrister Divine Momuluh quips in no-hold

2019-09-24

No: 448

Must we wait for people to die before conflict resolution? Barrister Divine Momuluh quips in no-holds-barred interview.

By Etoh Anzah George in Bamenda.

The Anglophone crisis was left to fester before attempts at defusing it were ignited, leaving many observers worried if the powers that be cared for the plight of civilians. One of those concerned by this attitude to crisis management is Barrister Momuluh Divine. In this interview with The Horizon, he expresses regret that the root causes of the crisis are not being addressed, concluding that any dialogue excluding Sissiku Ayuk Tabe and co as well as the Kamto factor would be fruitless.

*Your take on the calling of a national dialogue:

“It’s better late than never. It is a step in the right direction. You will agree with me many souls have been lost but the question is should we wait for people to die before we come on a table to dialogue? Come to think of it, the origin of this emanated from syndicates which only needed to be called, grievances tabled and solutions attended to. Despite all these demands from the lawyers and teachers, things went out of hand and the dwindling circles course we are facing justifies it all".

The man of law insists that for the dialogue to be inclusive, the voice of the people should not be ignored. He questioned why political rivals like Maurice Kamto who took to the streets should be arrested.

“Are we afraid of political rivals? On the issue of the popular Nera 10, these people have a following and you cannot sit on the dialogue table to talk without them. Irrespective of the choices you make as to who should sit on the dialogue table, without these leaders it will be watered down. The people have them as their leaders, reason why they have adhered to ghost town calls and have since clamoured for their unconditional release".

On the venue /chair of the dialogue that have been issues of debate, he replied:

“I think if this dialogue must be frank and genuine, a neutral party should be part. On the question of venue it should be done at home. Come to think of it, taking it to Bamenda will mean giving more credibility to the separatists and for sure taking it somewhere else will score the state more points but collectively it’s never heard that a man for example due to misunderstanding with his wife resorts to a public gathering or a market square to angle a way forward. It must be done in his home. For to me what is important is how frank and genuine it will be.” He further insisted: "Any dialogue without the Nera 10 and the Kamto side of the ball is simply a waste of time...if he wants to keep the one and indivisibility of Cameroon ....pull them out of jail by all means.” Get the Kamto factor of the story on one side and indulge in a chat to map a way forward," he stressed.

At a time when school resumption has been rocked by constant anti-campaign rhetoric by separatist leaders and Diaspora activists on one hand and separatist fighters on the other, many have since attributed the low turnout to the fact that the sentencing of Ayuk Tabe and co came to dampen the enthusiasm for back-to-school.

Barrister Momuloh does not think schools resumption should be conditioned by the release of the Nera 9, but believes that inviting amba boys to the dialogue table would constrain them to call off school boycott.

"I find myself unable to conveniently agree that we keep children at home with no schools because the Nera 10 leaders have not been released, but equally the government is cunning. They have discovered this is the only coin and tool the separatists have and will want to monopolise its control. Honestly speaking, no country can function without education", he said.

He further insisted: “A part of a nation can’t be without education but of course I can't also disagree with the boys. Government should rather speed up the dialogue process. Call them to the dialogue table and they will have no option than to let them go to school because if they want things to move they must go there because that’s where the changes are made".

The man of law opined that the time of the sentence proclamation was a fatal error. “In my humble opinion, a dialogue would have been called and once this fails then a jail can or may be issued.”

He strongly holds that Diaspora activists need guarantees to honour the dialogue call. "There must be guarantee of a free entry and exit and this can be well necessitated by a neutral party so that in case talks don’t move favorably to any party they can peacefully return".

A PHP Error was encountered

A PHP Error was encountered

Must we wait for people to die before conflict resolution? Barrister Divine Momuluh quips in no-hold