UN Tells Biya To End All Judicial Harrassment Against Mayor Paul Eric Kingue

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations ( UN ) has asked the Cameroonian government to "put an end to the arbitrary detention of Paul Eric Kingué " In a report received today by Cameroon Concord , the  UN Group on Arbitrary Detention , which had exerted pressure and succeeded in the release of Thierry Michel Atangana and Pierre Désiré Engo recently told the Cameroon government to end all " judicial harassment " against Paul Eric Kingué  and all other political prisoners. Paul Eric Kingué former mayor of Njombe – Penja in Mungo Division, Littoral region since 2007 was arrested and charged for corruption. On 28 February 2008, Paul Eric Kingue was arrested by the Rapid Response Battalion ( Bir ), and a branch of the National Gendarmerie. He was prosecuted for inciting an anti CPDM revolt in Njombe - Penja from the 25 to 28 February 2008. The Biya regime later on concocted other charges such as forgery and embezzlement of public funds against him. Cameroon Concord understands that he was first detained at the main prison in Nkongsamba and was later transferred on November 9, 2009 to the Central Prison in Douala. On January 19, 2009, the High Court in Nkongsamba sentenced him to six years in prison and ordered him to pay 800 million CFA francs to Plantations Company in Upper Penja and 4,000,000 to Daniel Nsonga who had begun legal proceedings against him. On February the 29, 2012, the same Nkongsamba court dished him a life sentence for an alleged 10 million CFA francs diversion. The UN arbitrary detention group noted that   three charges were brought against him while serving his term as mayor of the town of Njombe – Penja namely," the hijacking of a water supply project, renting a motor grader outside of his municipality and fictitious delivery of fuel. " By some strange happenstance, on March 26, 2012, the Court of Appeal acquitted  Paul Eric Kingué in the case of forgery.On 14 November 2012, the same court confirmed his conviction for embezzlement of public funds but reduced the amount to  3.46 million CFA francs.  The proceedings leading to the conviction of Mayor Michel Eric Kingue is riddled with violations of the rights of defence. According to Mayor Paul Eric Kingué’s legal team, he was sentenced without having been informed of the allegations against him as provided in Articles 3, 40, 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in Cameroon. He was also condemned without being heard by a judge and above all, his arrest and detention were executed without a warrant. President Biya had gone ahead and expelled him and his followers from his CPDM ruling party but will Paul Biya resist UN pressure?