The lawyers, dressed in official regalia numbering over 50, marched inside the rains from the High Court premises Up Station to down town, passing through City Chemist to the Commercial Avenue and back to City Chemist before making public a declaration.
According to Barrister Kemende Henry, Representative of the Cameroon Bar Association and Council in the North West Region, the motive of the protest was to make the public understand that the bill is obnoxious because it protects the rich and discriminates against the poor. “We do not want society to blame us tomorrow for not condemning the law,” the barrister said.
Kemende said the major problem with the bill is that it criminalizes offenses arising from private contracts.
The lawyer hinted that should government continue with the procedure to get the bill fully adopted,lawyers5 they will move to Plan B, a plan which we learned will entail the sensitizing of the public.
The Press gathered that the lawyers were neither
acting under the canopy of the Common Law lawyers nor the North West
Lawyers’ Association. One of the protesting lawyers said they were
acting in solidarity with the Bar Council after the outfit issued a
memorandum to the government condemning the Penal Code.
Before
the bill was adopted, the Social Democratic Front, SDF, Parliamentary
Group had objected to its adoption on grounds that consultations leading
to the preparation of the Bill were not broad-based.
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