Getting Africa Out of the Dungeon , livre ebook
235
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English
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2019
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235
pages
English
Ebook
2019
Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus
Publié par
Date de parution
02 août 2019
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781779295392
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
Using one of the continent’s supposed pathfinders, Cameroon as case-study, this book interrogates judiciary in Africa in three domains. First, as the third branch of government, second, as the acknowledged umpire of federalism, and, finally, as a means of reversing the institutionalization of in-human rights and injustice administration in Africa. While examining the roots and causes of the persisting human rights and justice administration problems in Cameroon particularly, and Africa in general, the book through the tumbu-tumbu Long-Distance Government Theory (LDGT), argues for a rethinking and freeing of strategies currently used from close to a century of colonial and neo-colonial bondage, under the confusing covers of ‘independence’ and of ‘advanced democracy’. The book challenges Africa to consider a mentality change, for a ‘real’ judiciary transformative change. The book will interest legal practitioners, social anthropologists, development studies and political science practitioners, among other such practitioners in the social sciences and humanities.
Voir
Publié par
Date de parution
02 août 2019
Nombre de lectures
0
EAN13
9781779295392
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
Using one of the continent’s supposed legendary pathînder, Cameroon as case-study, this book interrogates judiciary in Africa in three domains. First, as the third branch of government, second, as the acknowledged umpire of federalism, and, înally, as an exquisite means of reversing the institutionalization of inhuman rights and injustice administration in Africa. While examining the roots and causes of the persisting human rights and justice administration problems in Cameroon particularly and Africa in general, the book, through the tumbu-tumbu Long-Distance Government Theory (LDGT), argues for a valiant rethinking and deployment of some of the strategies herein furnished to be freed from close to a century of colonial and neo-colonial bondage under the confusing covers of ‘independence’ and of ‘advanced democracy’. The book challenges Africa to consider mentality change for a ‘real’ judiciary transformative change that can possibly help the continent geeting out of the dungeon. It is an asset for legal practitioners, social anthropologists, development studies and political science practitioners, among other such practitioners in
holds a PhD in Law from the Universite de Montreal, two Master’s degrees in Law from McGill University and University of Alberta. He has taught law at the Universite de Yaounde and Buea university in Cameroon. Dr Fossungu has published extensively on various aspects of society and life in Cameroon, Africa and Canada. He is currently a researcher in Montreal, Canada.
GETTING AFRICA OUT OF THE DUNGEON
GETTING AFRICA OUT OF THE DUNGEON Human Rights, Federalism, and Judicial Politics in Cameroon
Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu
G E T T I N G A F R I C A O U T O F T H E D U N G E O N : H U M A N R I G H T S , F E D E R A L I S M , A N D J U D I C I A L P O L I T I C S I N C A M E R O O N
By
Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu
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Africa Talent Publishers 15155 Runyararo West
Masvingo, Zimbabwe
Email:mmawere@atpublishers.co.zw
tmubaya@atpublishers.co.zw Tel:+263 776 966 915/+263 772 973 019Website: http://www.atpublishers.co.zw/ ISBN: 9780797497818 ©Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu, 2019
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic,
including photocopying and recording, or be stored in
any information storage or retrieval system, without
written permission from the publisher.
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DEDICATED TO DEAR SWEET MAMA AFRICA
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 .............................................................................. 1HUMAN RIGHTS AND JUDICIAL POLITICS IN CAMEROON:IDEAS OF A COUNTRY THAT SHOULD LEAD AFRICA OUT OF THE DUNGEON.............................. 1The History And Fallouts Of The Confusing Silliness Of Judicial Exclusion In Politics .................7 THE FEDERALISM CONFUSION AS FALLING OUT OF SILLINESS? ....................................................................8 Human Rights Catastrophe from Playing Hamlet without the Prince? ....................................................... 21 The Chief Justice And The Size Of The Cameroon Supreme Court................................................................. 27 Promoting Court Solidarity or Reinforcing Judicial Dependence?.................................................... 31 The Numerical Mystery of Numbers and Heads32 The Head Second-Fiddle Jeopardy Game ............. 33 The POR’s Secret of Doubling the Unconventional Knowledge and Experience........................................ 37 Advanced Remote Controllitics: Duties Of Courts And The Possibly Impossible Impeachment....... 40
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Advanced Remote Controllitics Means Impossible Never Really Cameroonian?............... 45 Advancing Inequality in Equality and Unknowingly Impeaching the Unwilling Impeacher?........................................................................ 50 The Federal High Court of Justice: An Impeachment Institution? .......................................... 55 The 1991 and 1996 High Courts of Justice Impeaching the President........................................... 56 Concluding with Places to Learn From ................. 60 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................64JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE AND THE MAKING OF TEACHERS, JUDGES AND LAWYERS IN AFRICA: CASE OF CAMEROON......................................................................64Wonders Never Ending with Political Idiots: Subverting Separation of Powers by Penal-Coding Separation of Powers? .................................. 69 The Questions of Cameroon Politicians and Lawyers: Evidence of Illiteracy or Confusioncracy? .............................................................. 71 The ‘Concours’ As Recruitment And Training Modality.............................................................................. 78 Becoming A Lawyer In Cameroon With No Law School and Facilities for Continuing Education. 90 On the Facilities for Judges’, Magistrates’ and Teachers’ Continuing Education .............................. 97 Closing Remarks ............................................................. 99
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CHAPTER 3 ......................................................................... 102HUMAN RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONALISM AND THE JUDICIARY IN CONTEMPORARY GOVERNANCE: ABOLISHING LONG-DISTANCE GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA012..................................................................................
With Separation Of Powers, Not Only Federalism Pushes For Litigation ................................................. 104 Separation of Powers and Constitutional Democracy...................................................................... 108 Arguing Against Judicial Review or Judicial Independence?.............................................................. 115 The Tiger-DNA Theory: Defining A Balanced Supreme Constitution And Shaming Escapist Scholarship..................................................................... 118 The Suspension and Termination of the Regional and Local Authorities: The Legality with Unsupreme Constitutions? ...................................... 129 Examples of Supreme Constitutions around the Globe ................................................................................. 135 The Amendment Formulae War of Rigidity and German Uncommon Simplicity.............................. 137 Knowing the Unknown Straightforwardness with Stiff Amending Extreme Conclusion?.................. 139
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CHAPTER 4 ......................................................................... 149IS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REGULATING NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE IN AFRICA? TOWARD A CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS IN CAMEROON ............................................ 149
Debating The Causes Of Judicial Dependence In Cameroon........................................................................ 151 Strategies For Securing Judicial Independence................................................................ 161 The UN Option: Ineffective and Promoting the Dependency Syndrome in Africa? ........................ 162 From Prosecuting Oneself to Selective Defence: Enhancing the Divide-and-Rule Tactics............. 166 The Independent Judiciary`s Questions for Review in Favour of Human Rights: Not Whether But How ........................................................................... 168
CONCLUSION ...................................................................... 188REFERENCES ...................................................................... 191
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Introduction
This book focuses squarely on the judiciary as, first, the third branch of government, second, the acknowledged umpire of federalism and, finally, an exquisite means of reversing the institutionalization of inhuman rights and injustice administration in Cameroon – Africa’s supposed legendary pathfinder: viewing President Amadou Ahidjo’s claims in 1961 that the new Cameroon state was to be a real laboratory for an African Union, bringing together all the English-speaking and French-speaking countries of the continent (Fossungu, 2013a: viii). The prevailing and unsettling human rights situation in African countries like Cameroon cannot then fail to attract keen attention to the judiciary and its independence as well as to the concept of federalism which, according to some experts, is “a device which I find to be the best or authentic modern vehicle for multiculturalism or the political management of ethnic/cultural diversity” (Fossungu, 2013b: x). Cameroonians from all the corners of the country as well as all those interested in what is going on in this unique African country (singular in being the only that is variously known as ‘Africa in Miniature’, ‘Africa’s Promised Land’, ‘Paradise in Africa’, ‘the hinge of Africa’, ‘the microcosm of Africa’ (Fossungu, 2013a: vii)) are entitled to understand what the problem actually is and
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what would need to be done to permanently redress it. That is the reason I have taken the time to bring forth this revised and updated version ofsome portionsof my close to 500-page 1999 doctoral dissertation at the Université de Montréal. It comes to throw shining light on the roots and causes of the quagmire, as well as advance some means of resolving the human rights and justice administration problems bisecting not only this nation but also the continent generally. The hope is that this contribution would provide enhanced understanding of what is currently happening in Cameroon and Africa at large and, perhaps, bring about a rethinking of neo-colonial government’s out-of-touch policy on biculturalism and national development.
But the contribution has not come to simply beg for the administration’s rethinking. It comes instead to show Cameroonians particularly (and Africans generally) how they have (and urge them) to rise in unison and take proper independent control of their lives. Underlying the book’s dominating Glorious-Revolutionary message is the fact that human rights are totally at the margin in Cameroon (the national case study), with the Chief Executive absolutely free to ‘legislate’ and ‘legalize’ oppression; all thanks to the folly of excluding the judiciary from the exercise of political power that was installed in Foumban where a so-called federation is
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