International rights organization, Human Rights Watch, HRW, has condemned the ongoing court hearings of suspected perpetrators of the Ngarbuh massacre taking place in far-off military court in Yaounde.
The trial, which began 17 December 2020, and has suffered two adjournment takes place before the military court in Yaoundé, “about 380 kilometers from Ngarbuh, making it difficult for family members of victims to attend,” the report of the right group partly stated.
“Family members’ lawyers are concerned about how challenging it is for their clients to participate in the trial, as is their right as civil parties in the case under Cameroon law,” the report stated.
It added that: “The participation of victims of gross human rights violations in criminal proceedings is an essential way of giving them a voice”. It urged authorities to with the support of international partners, if necessary, ensure that the victims’ families attend and participate in the trial so that their rights to justice and reparations are upheld.
It went further, adding, that the families of victims “would prefer the trial be held at the military court in Bamenda, closer to Ngarbuh” where the crime was committed 14 February 2020.
“Our clients don’t have the financial means to travel to Yaoundé,” the report cited Barrister Richard Tamfu, one of the lawyers of the families of victims as saying.
The legal mind added that: “the court sitting in Bamenda would fit with the key principle of meaningful access to justice, bringing it closer to the victims.”
The accused includes two soldiers and a gendarme arrested in connection with the massacre and charged with murder, arson, destruction, violence against a pregnant woman, and disobeying orders from their hierarchy.
The attack on the village is one of the worst by soldiers deployed to the two Anglophone regions within the ongoing conflict. 21 civilians, including 13 children and a pregnant woman were killed while 5 homes were burned in a reprisal attack aimed at punishing residents suspected of harboring separatist fighters.
On 3 February 2021, families of the Ngarbuh victims received food items and FCFA 5 million each as compensation for the destruction of their property from the Governor of the North-West region, on behalf of President Paul Biya.
This fell within promises made by government when its report of inquiry was made public by the Secretary General of the Presidency.
The move has however been criticized by lawyers representing the families according to the HRW report, stating that it is up to the court to decide on reparations.
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