The Trial Process Under Cameroon Criminal Law: A Critical Analysis of Constitutional and Statutory Rights
Abstract
Within the ambit of the Cameroonian Criminal Law, everyone, including convicts, is protected by the law but nonetheless, practical reality shows that the persons standing trial at all levels are subjected to human rights violations. These violations, most often, are perpetrated by those who have legal rights to ensure proper administration of justice. This paper explores the legal framework governing the administration of criminal justice in Cameroon, beginning from the preliminary investigation throughout the trial process. Certain fundamental principles, such as the presumption of innocence, the right to have legal representation, the right to medical care, the right to food, the right to a fair trial, etc. as enshrined in both national legislations and international human rights laws, form the basis of this study. Also, the paper examines the various challenges that pop up during the trial process and where possible solutions can be provided. Finally, the study expands on the various avenues available to victims of rights violations in a criminal matter to seek remedy, such as compensation or sanctions approval on the perpetrators of such violations.
References
Law No. 96/6 of 18th January 1996 to Amend the Constitution of 2nd June 1972 of the Republic of Cameroon.
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A suspect is someone who is alleged to have committed a crime but has not yet been formally charged. Law enforcement may have evidence or reasons to think this person is involved in the crime, but the investigation is still ongoing. On the other hand, an accused is a person who has been formally charged with a crime. This means that the legal department/examining magistrate has moved beyond suspicion and has filed charges against the individual. The accused will face trial and must defend himself against the charges in court.
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The courts hear civil and criminal matters jointly where it is difficult to separate such as in cases of theft whereby the victim is seeking a remedy as can be seen in section 6 of the Criminal Procedure Code of 2005.
Decree No. 2012/546 of 19th November 2012 dealing with the code of conduct for the forces of the National Security.
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The protection of these rights often goes with the saying that emanates from the first principle of justice that “it is better to set a criminal free for lack of evidence than to imprison someone who is not guilty due to a flaw in the law and justice system.”
Law No. 2005/007 of 27 July 2005 instituting the Harmonised Criminal Procedure Code Applicable in the whole Territory of Cameroon.
French Cameroon got its independence on the 1st of January 1960 with the name La Republique du Cameroun and Anglophone Cameroon gained its Independence on 1st October 1961 following the 11th of February plebiscite where it voted to join La Republique du Cameroun to become the Federal Republic of Cameroon with two states of West Cameroon (present day Northwest and Southwest regions) and East Cameroon for the francophone regions of Cameroon.
Two fundamental laws made up the Cameroonian Penal Code; Law No. 65/LF/24 of 12 November 1965 (for Book One) and Law No. 67/LF/1 of 12 June 1967 (for Book Two). However, the Penal Code has been revised by Law No. 2016/007 of 12th July 2016.
This made possible because of the fact that Anglophone is a former colonial territory of Great Britain and was administered as part of the Eastern Region of Nigeria.
This Code was introduced in French Equatorial Africa via Senegal in 1903 and was rendered applicable to French Cameroon by the Decree of 22nd May 1924.
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The accusatory system is based on the presumption of innocence, with the burden of proof on the accuser, whereas the inquisitorial system is based on the presumption of guilt, with the accused bearing the burden of proof.
See para 9 of the preamble of the 1996 Constitution.
Para 8, Ibid.
Para 10 and 11, Ibid.
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In very simplistic terms, the accusatory system is based on the presumption of innocence with the burden of proof on the accuser, while in the inquisitorial system there is a presumption of guilt with burden of proof on the accused.
See section 114 of the CPC of 2005.
Section 39, Ibid.
Section 40, Ibid.
Section 30(2), Ibid.
Section 30(4), Ibid.
Judgement No. 16/04 delivered on the 16th January 2009, where a Superintendent of Police attached to the Garoua Emi-Immigration Police Station used violence on the accused. He was said to have assaulted the accused and false arrest and so the accused was acquitted for the charges against him. See also The People v. Ava Gabriel, judgment No. 63/CRIM of 2 July 2007, an Inspector of Police was accused and prosecuted for torture. At the hearing of 18 April 2008, he was found guilty of the offence and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, suspended for 3 years and ordered to pay damages of FCFA 150,000.
See Section 122(2) of the CPC.
Section 37, Ibid.
Suit No. 60C Court of Appeal North West Region, 2012 unreported.
Section 31 of the CPC.
In 2008 when fuel prices were increased, in 2016 when lawyers went on strike in Bamenda and Buea, matched and protested several injustices plaguing the Common Law system in Cameroon, in 2016 - 2017 when Anglophone youths protested against marginalization and in 2018 when militants of the MRC protested for electoral fraud, etc. Thousands of people were arrested in all of these protest areas without any information of their whereabouts, some were later released weeks, months and years after without any due trial process meanwhile some are still languishing in jail.
So many youths have been picked up by the police even from the comforts of their homes and carried away to unknown destinations. Families have spent huge sums of money to find their relatives whose arrests have been politically motivated.
Section 122(4) of the CPC.
Section 32, Ibid.
Section 119(2)(a & b), Ibid.
Section 119(2) (c), Ibid.
Section 120(2), Ibid.
Section 116(3), Ibid.
Miranda Rights are a crucial aspect of the U.S. criminal justice system, designed to protect the constitutional rights of individuals during police interrogations. When a suspect is taken into custody, law enforcement officers must inform them of their right to remain silent in order to avoid self-incrimination, that any statements made by the suspect can be used as evidence in court, that they have the right to consult with an attorney before and during questioning, and that if the suspect cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided at no cost.
384 U.S. 436 (1966).
PEFELA, G.N. 2021. Op.cit, p. 85.
Section 8 of the CPC. In fact, the preamble of the 1996 constitution outrightly provides that “every accused person is presumed innocent until found guilty during a hearing conducted in strict compliance with the rights of defence”.
See the case of Cooper v. Wandsworth Board of Works (1861–73) ALL ER 1554 where Byles J. said “the law of God and man both give the party an opportunity to defend himself. Even God did not pass a sentence upon Adam before he was called upon to make his defence.”
Section 14(2).
Section 7.
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In Cameroonian practice, flagrante delicto is when a suspect or accused is detained by the police, on a crime scene, placed in police custody, or before the State counsel to answer to charges against him. This in fact is absurd as it immediately defeats the purpose of the doctrine of presumption of innocence.
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Section 167 of the CPC.
Tabe TS. “A look at Preliminary Inquiry under Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code”, in readings in the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code, PUA, Yaounde. 2007. p. 56.
Section 170(2) of the CPC.
Section 170(3), Ibid.
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It is common knowledge that though the official languages of Cameroon are English and French, proceedings in most courts in the two divides of the country, take place mostly in the main language of the jurisdiction. Thus, in the Northwest and Southwest Regions the English language is used in almost all proceedings while in the other eight regions the French language is used. Almost in the sense that when you find yourself in the military court for example in Bamenda, hardly will one hear English language during proceedings from the different members sitting in each case.
In my opinion one’s first language can be known firstly through his primary language of study and if he is not educated, the language he expresses himself best amongst the two official languages or in case where he cannot speak English or French, his language will be gotten from his origin.
See Section 13 of Law No. 2019/019 of 24th December 2019 on the Promotion of Official Languages in Cameroon.
Section 358 of the CPC.
See Section 6 of the 2006 Judicial Organization in Cameroon as amended in 2011.
Yusufa A. Op.cit. 2023. p. 229.
Section 302(1) of the CPC.
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Section 222 et seq. of the CPC.
Section 25(3)(a) of the 2006 Law on Judicial Organisation in Cameroon.
Section 224(2) of the CPC. Non-bailable offences shall be seen as offences which cannot be bailable no matter the circumstances surrounding them.
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Section 389 of the CPC.
The Magistrate Court also known as the Court of First Instance and the High Court found in every Sub-division and Divisions, respectively, though sometimes they cover extensive sub-divisions and divisions are court with original jurisdictions that hear matters for the very first time.
Section 436 of the CPC.
Such as the Supreme Court, Constitutional Council, etc.
Pefela GN. Op.cit. 2021. p. 85.
Section 122(2).
This convention, adopted in 1984, provides a comprehensive framework for preventing and punishing acts of torture. Article 2 mandates that each State Party take effective measures to prevent torture within its jurisdiction.
Section 5.
Section 7.
Section 5.
Section 132.
Section 277.
This mentally disabled person by name Afanwi was found dead two days later after being brutally beaten by military officers who met him after curfew hours and suspected that he was an Ambazonian fighter. After he refused to answer questions posed in French, partly because he did not understand the language and because of his disability, he was seriously beaten by the military on patrol one night in 2019. Provide source of this information.
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Available at https://www.policinglaw.info/country/camer [Accessed July 2019].
Cameroon currently has 11 central prisons, 48 main prisons and 17 secondary prisons according statistics of Department of Penitentiary Administration.
Statement by the Cameroon Human Rights Commission to Mark the Seveth African Day of Pre-trial Detention in Cameroon (25th April 2024).
United States Department of State. 2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Cameroon, 2016. Available at https://www.refworld.org/docid/5716128d4.html [Accessed on July 2024].
Section 30 et seq of the CPC.
Section 37, Ibid.
Amnesty International. Human Rights Violations in Cameroon’s North West Region. Amnesty International’s report on how people of the North-West region are caught between the army, armed separatists and militias, June 2023. Available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2023/06/ [Accessed on November 2024].
Guidelines of Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-trial Detention in Africa (Luanda Guidelines).
Guideline No. 10.
Section 218(1) of the CPC provides that “Remand in custody shall be an exceptional measure which shall not be ordered except in the case of a misdemeanor or a felony. It shall be necessary for the preservation of evidence, the maintenance of public order, the protection of life and property, or to ensure the appearance of an accused before the Examining Magistrate or the Court”.
It is very common in Cameroon to find persons and especially unemployed youths or students above the age of 21 placed in police custody or detained for impregnating another adult youth after consensual sexual intercourse on the behest of the lady’s parents even though this is in no manner a crime.
United States Department of State, 2016. supra.
Mr Vounpah was remanded in custody in Guider principal prison in the North Region of Cameroon. He was thrown into custody on the 9th of May 2023 and remained there until 2nd February 2024 despite an order for his release by the investigating judge. The examining magistrate issued his release order on the 21st July 2023 to dismiss the case but unfortunately, he was kept languishing in the prison.
These people were remanded in custody in the Ngaoundere Central prison from 29th of November 2023 to 18th of March 2024 despite their order of release issued by the investigating judge on 1st March 2024.
Sections 119 and 121 of the CPC.
Section 221, Ibid.
Section 10(5) of Law No. 2011/028 of 14th December 2011 as amended by Law No. 2012/011 of 16th July 2012 setting up the Special Criminal Court.
Statement by the Cameroon Human Rights Commission to Mark the Seventh African Day of Pre-trial Detention in Cameroon (25th April 2024).
Section 37(2). See also Section 10 of the UDHR and Section 14 of the ICCPR.
Yusufa A. Op.cit. 2003. p. 231.
United States Department of State. Supra. 2016.
Ibid.
Charles FM. ‘The Scope for Uniformised National Laws in Cameroon’. Review Juridique Afrique. 1990;3.
Section 236 of the CPC.
Section 237, Ibid.
Section 236(1), Ibid.
Section 236(3) Ibid.
Section 15(1) b of Law No. 2017/012 of 12 July 2017 to lay down the Military Code of Justice.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006 - Cameroon, -, United States Department of State, 6 March 2007. Available at https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2007/en/40487 [Accessed on November 2024].
Section 437 of the CPC.
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Decree No. 2005/065 of 23rd February 2005 on the Organisation and Functioning of the Special Division of Service Control in Cameroon.
