Cintia A. , Lebledparle.com
The celebrated human rights lawyer, Alice Nkom, has been summoned to appear before the National Gendarmerie’s Central Service of Judicial Researches on 14th January 2025. This is in relation to accusations by the Observatory of Societal Development, ODS, that she and others are into financing terrorism and undermining state security.
This is one episode in the continuing saga of Nkom’s run-ins with the law. In December 2024, she was issued several convocations by the SDO of Wouri, charging her association, Redhac, with similar offenses and charging that she had broken the seal placed on her office door. The first few of these hearings, Nkom refused to attend, claiming the convocations were not delivered in time and that her lawyer was not present, although she accepted a later date.
The latest summons drove Nkom to express her frustration on a Facebook post she made. “A new year begins with another summons, this time from the gendarmerie at the request of the military tribunal, accusing me of financing terrorism. All this based on a complaint from an association I know nothing about—its existence, leaders, creation date, or even registration certificate,” she said.
She also denounced the efficiency of the authorities’ reaction, comparing it to the ineffectiveness of public services in Cameroon: “If only the speed at which this complaint is being handled could be applied.
This accusations against her and the suspension of Redhac by the Minister of Territorial Administration has raised several questions about the government’s stance on civil society organizations by human rights watchers, and with the January 14 hearing approaching, Nkom’s case is in a position to test the balance between national security and protection of human rights in Cameroon. The whole world will be watching the developments for an outcome that may affect the future of activism and freedom of expression in the country.
