Cameroon: Prominent civil rights leader arrested for exposing corruption in Government

Bernard Njonga, president of Cameroon's most powerful civil rights association - Citizen Association for the Defence of Collective Interest, better known by its french language accronym ACDIC, has been arrested for exposing corruption by government officials.
But Njonga, who was arrested and detained alongside 10 other demonstrators,last 10th December, for organizing a demonstration to condemn widespread corruption in the country, has been charged with disturbing public peace.Charge many believe were politically motivated. In Cameroon, the charge of disturbance of public peace is usually made when the government cannot find a more substantive charge, but deliberately wants to hold people they consider troublesome.

Some two journalists who were held along with the demonstrators were later released.

It should be noted here that Njonga and his NGO ACDIC, recently disclosed sensitive revelations that were disturbing to public authorities in the nation's capital of Yaounde.

Njonga, who is noted for fighting corruption in the country noted that up to 49 of 60 tractors given to Cameroon as agricultural aid had been distributed among ministers, parliamentarians and army generals. He also disclosed from investigations that he had been conducting that an overwhelming number of common initiative groups in Cameroon were fictitiously created by public officials for the purpose of earning tax payers’ money.
Since 2002, he pointed out, a total of 1.2 billion FCFA had been given by the government as grants to these common initiative groups, money which went into the pockets of public officials.
Government had earlier band Njonga's press conference and other event intended to make known the result of his findings to the public. But he however went ahead to organise a demonstration to condemn the government.
Some analysts were of the view that if President Paul Biya sincerely meant to fight corruption, he should intervene and redeem Bernard Njong whose only crime is to speak out with proof against widespread corruption in the government.

It is a mighty shame that public authorities instead of trying to manage the immense damage done the government by the disclosures of massive corruption by Bernard Njongang, president of ACDIC, and NGO, they instead pounced upon him as if to throw the baby and the bath water.

Now global radio, BBC and RFI are making a sing-song of the story. The world now knows the story of how government ministers shared out Indian aid tractors given to support farmers across Cameroon.
Equally the world now knows that almost all the Common Initiative groups in Cameroon are fictitious creations of public officials who use them to siphon away public money. Since 2002 it is calculated that the government has disbursed a total of CFA 1.2 billion!
Njongang who is active in encouraging self-sufficiency in food and animal production took time to investigate the whereabouts of the Indian aid tractors. Many of them were found parked within the premises of public officials.
Paul Biya should see for himself the massive extent to which corruption has eaten into the fabric of government. Let the expected next government try to have a semblance of more decent humans.