A 27 year old man was charged FCFA 100.000 by a female State Counsel whom he tried to court through phone messages. The man, who police arrested on the orders of the state counsel, was immediately shaved and remanded in the awaiting trial on August 25, 2006, without any statements recorded from him.
GCI Volunteer Ngala Elvis tried to intervene in the matter, but the State Counsel requested to see the man’s parents. On Friday, September 1, 2006, the man’s mother presented in front of the prosecutor and was asked to pay FCFA 100.000 before her son could be released on bail. She begged the state counsel and she finally accepted FCFA 60.000 and no receipt was issued for the money.
Global Conscience Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Samba Churchill, has described the matter as open corruption and an abuse of administrative powers by the State Counsel, who he described as player and referee at the same time. According to the CEO, the State Prosecutor needed to file a complaint against the young man alleging an offense, for instance, harassment, and then allow the matter to be investigated into and then heard in an open court where the young man has all the legal guarantees. He said in the above case the State Prosecutor used her power without authority and thus abused the power entrusted into her hands by the people of Cameroon to suit her personal interest.