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Chapter 5 - The Constitutional Marathon, From Bamenda to Foumban
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115 Chapter 5 The Constitutional Marathon, From Bamenda to Foumban The Bamenda All Party Conference: 26-28 June 1961 The Foumban Constitutional Conference of 16-21 July,1961incontestablymarksthe peak of Cameroon history; the political confluence of Southern Cameroons and Cameroon Republic, which forged a common identity and took concrete shape in the Federal Republic of Cameroon. It could also be said that the Bamenda All Party Conference, which preceded it was a dress rehearsal and direct prelude to this all important conference since it was the same Southern Cameroonian delegates who proceeded from there to Foumban about a month later. Foncha’s objective in calling the Bamenda All Party Conference specifically was to ensure that they went to Foumban speaking with one voice, which would also strengthen their position in the face of the East Cameroon delegation led by Ahidjo. Ideologically the KNDP was particularly sensitive, conscious and jealous of the identity and autonomous status of Southern Cameroons within the new dispensation. Towards this objective it proposed fourteen entrenched clauses drawn from the Nigerian Constitution for inclusion in the Federal Constitution. These aimed at safeguarding the identity and inviolability of the “State” in the emergence of an overpowerful “centre”. This made their amendment exceedingly difficult if not impossible without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each State Parliament, or a majority of votes cast in a referendum in each State. No powers were to be exercised “concurrently” by Federal and State Governments.179 These proposals were finally condensed and implanted as the famous, indelible Article 47 (1) of the Federal Constitution. It stated: 179 Ibid., Johnson, p. 172. 116 No bill to amend the constitution may be introduced if it tends to impair the unity [the writers had a union in mind] and integrity of the federation.(3) The amendment may be passed by a simple majority of the membership of the federal assembly, provided that such majority include a majority from each federated state. 180 However, Article 59 in part stated that: “The constitution was to come into force on the 1stOctober 1961 and shall be published in its new form in French and in English, the French text being authentic”181 thus imputing some ulterior motive. Nevertheless, all being equal, there was enough security inscribed into this constitution together with the veto powers contained in the “simple majority plus one vote” provision for the representatives of either state in the Federal National Assembly when major decisions had to be taken. This safeguarded the interests of the minority in parliament. In short, it was the “equality veto” clause, which brought the two states of Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroon together on 1 October 1961 at par, as co-equals. However, the extent to which it was effectively implemented is another question. Further elucidated, Article 47 of the Federal Constitution to all intents and purposes was designed to be bounding: Auto –limitative to the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Cameroon in the legal sense that the people decided in advance under that constitution never to do anything or to act in any manner whatsoever to impair the unity and integrity of the Federation they had set out to create, and to accept that any such impairment would be legally inadmissible.182 Furthermore, 180Post News Watch, October 2007, p.10. Federal Constitution, Part X Amendment. 181 Ibid. 182 “Memorandum Relative to Constitutional Reform, Cameroon Anglophone Movement: a Cultural Association”, Douala, 5 December 1991. [44.201.59.20] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 13:23 GMT) 117 It is a fundamental principle of law, whether municipal or international, that a sovereign can accept to be bound by legal enactments which would limit its sovereign action and that is precisely what the sovereign people of Cameroon did under article 47 of the Federal Constitution and the introduction of the socalled constitution of 2nd June 1972 should have respected that legal norm of auto-limitation.183 Mr. François Sengat Kuo, an eminent writer, former minister and political secretary of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) identified himself as a mentor (author) of the Unitary State constitution.184 In drawing up the resolutions the delegates at the Bamenda All Party Conference were assisted legally by Mr. BG Smith, the Attorney General, who made substantial contributions to its formulation especially in connection with sovereignty for the transitional government, which he maintained should at all times belong somewhere.185 At the time the nascent legal community of Southern Cameroons...