CBC, Ex-members’ Affair : Elections To Hold All Over The Country, Save Yaounde

It was a ruling that lasted less than three minutes. In the afternoon of Thursday, November 21, 2024. When the President of the Yaounde Court of First Instance Centre Administratif, Justice Theophile Georges Ntimba, read out his brief verdict. Dismissing the Cameroon Baptist Convention, CBC’s arguments that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter, which should be rather handled by an administrative court. 
But the judge granted the prayer of the three former CBC members that the church's decentralised nationwide elections scheduled for Saturday, November 23, 2024 be temporarily suspended in Yaounde voting centre. While the vote will be allowed to go ahead as scheduled in the other 11 voting centres across the country. Justice Ntimba said his ruling was given pending judgement in the matter between ex-CBC members and the CBC currently before the Mezam High Court in Bamenda, North West Region. Justice Ntimba gave the CBC 15 days to appeal the judgement.   
Meanwhile, ruling in the substantive matter between the three CBC ex-members and CBC leadership before the Mezam High Court was earlier scheduled for November 19, 2024. Then adjourned to Thursday, November 21, 2024. Before a further adjournment to Friday, November 22, 2024. Just a day before CBC elections on November 23, 2024. 
In the matter of accelerated application brought by three former CBC members, Albert Luma, Emi Emmanuel and Chief Jacob Taku, their counsel, had prayed the Yaounde Court of First Instance, Centre Administratif to suspend the holding in Yaounde of CBC decentralised nationwide elections for national leaders this weekend. 
“The CBC elections of November 23, 2024 have been suspended in Yaounde. And so it shall be while awaiting definite decisions in the cases by our plaintiffs pending before Mezam High Court in Bamenda. The CBC has the right to appeal the ruling by the Yaounde Court of First Instance, Centre Administratif, but any such appeal does not suspend the execution of the decision. As soon as the judgement in Mezam High Court becomes definite, the ruling of the Yaounde Court of First Instance, Centre Administratif, will be cancelled. 
“This is because the judge in the matter in Yaounde is a judge of urgent application, who will not go into the merits of the case. But only delivers temporary rulings. While the judge in Bamenda is hearing a substantive suit, meaning he will examine the merits of the case,” one of the counsel for the three former CBC members, Maitre Fernand Honoré Tagouemekong, told journalists after the hearing. 
Also talking to journalists, the lead counsel for the CBC, Barrister Sonkwa Victorine, confirmed that elections in the CBC will hold as planned on Saturday, November 23, 2024 in 11 voting centres all over the country. But the elections have been temporarily suspended in Yaounde voting centre. 
“There are four matters by the same plaintiffs against the CBC pending before Mezam High Court in Bamenda – an interlocutory motion that the CBC should not apply the amended 2023 constitution; another motion that Albert Luma, Emi Emmanuel and Jacob Taku be reinstated into the membership of the CBC… 
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