It was thought that the case of Akwo Kevin, Itoe Elvis, and Momfor Jong David was going to be resolved yesterday as the wrongfully detained prisoners’ were scheduled to appear before the Buea Court of Appeal. Unfortunately, the three men remain in custody and GCI’s pursuit of justice on their behalf remains bogged down by legal and administrative bungling.
The case was adjourned and the date for the next hearing was set for September 22, 2009.
There appeared to be many problems on the day of the hearing that prevented the case from being heard. Barrister Yanou Mike, who represented the 3 prisoners and has been providing assistance to GCI, asked for the adjournment to become more familiar with the complicated details of the case. Furthermore, the Commissioner of Government, who is being accused of error in his handling of the three prisoners’ detention, was not present in court. Finally, the case was put before the Inquiry Control Chamber of the Court of Appeal. The Inquiry Control Chamber is supposed to be involved in reviewing procedural errors committed during a Preliminary Inquiry. These were not the grounds by which GCI applied for Habeas Corpus and the magistrates themselves appeared somewhat confused.
We will continue to provide updates on this matter as we work for the release of the illegally detained men.