By TazoachaAsonganyi
 |
| Abdouramane Hamadou |
Those who were given the task of
“normalizing” FECAFOOT decided to think like most politicians. Their political
thinking consisted in deciding on the conclusion first, and then finding good
arguments for it. And so they were shocked by people like Abdouramane Hamadou who were really
prepared to let their thinking reach conclusions.
Indeed,
most politicians have lived in the state of lawlessness in Cameroon for so long
that the “headiness” of people like Abdouramanr Hamadou
throws them completely off-balance, and they leave the stage looking more like
twits. Faced with the realities of the rule of law, they act at best like
clowns.
More
often than not, social interactions in every society breed conflicts. It is the
role of the courts to resolve such conflicts by enforcing the rule of law.
Since democracy is a sort of conflict of ideas, passions and ambitions of
humans prone to abusing their power, it can only thrive under the rule of law.
Simply put, the
Rule of Law is the use of the law to secure the
protection of the individual, groups, and even countries, without exception. In
the spirit of the rule of law, all human beings are said to be equal and no one
person, no matter their station in life, is more equal than others. It is the
Rule of Law that preempts strong individuals, groups or countries from having
the better of the weak, by hemming in their power with myriad restrictions
concerning relationships and behaviors.
It
is courts that say what the law is, and uphold the rule of law. Such courts
include the various courts in a country, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; or Tribunal arbitral du sport, TAS), the International Court of Justice (the World Court or ICJ),
and many other arbitration bodies. In principle, at the end of the drama that
usually marks conflict resolution in these courts, comes the court decision.
Such decisions must be binding on the parties and be enforceable and enforced,
otherwise the court system ridicules the rule of law, leaving the rule of the jungle
to take its place.
We
got to know more about the ICJ through the case that pitted Cameroon against
Nigeria over the Bakassi Peninsula. We have come to know
about CAS through Abdouraman Hamadou
and the FECAFOOT normalization committee. The courts showed neutrality, and
their decisions were binding, enforceable and enforced.
An
independent
judiciary is vital to enforcing the law and ensuring accountability
in all areas of government and society. The judiciary is only effective
if its decisions like those of the ICJ and CAS are enforced without
more.
It
is in recognition of the importance of the rule of law and the frailties of human nature that constitutions
of countries make “the law” central to all activities in the country. For
example, the Ghanaian constitution defines “the law of Ghana” on which the
judicial power bases its actions, and states unequivocally that “In the exercise
of the judicial power of Ghana, the Judiciary, in both its judicial and
administrative functions, including financial administration, is subject only
to this constitution and shall not be subject to the control or direction of
any person or authority; neither the President nor Parliament nor any
person acting under the authority of the President or Parliament nor any other
person whatsoever shall interfere with judges or judicial officers or other
persons exercising judicial power, in the exercise of their judicial
functions…”
In contrast to this, the Cameroon
constitution directs that "...the judicial power shall be independent of
the executive and legislative powers...The President of the Republic shall
guarantee the independence of the judicial power..." Indeed, it is the
President of the Republic that is the president of the Higher Judicial Council!
It is Roland Mousnier that defined an
institution as a guiding idea of procedures that are imposed according to an
obligatory mode of behavior; the guiding idea and the procedures make a group
of humans into an institution showing commonalities in behavior, attitude, and
relations to others, regardless of the temporary occupants of the positions
within it.
The courts are supposed to be neutral
institutions that say what the law is, and uphold the rule of law. To use Wole Soyinka’s words, justice dispensed
in courts is supposed to be unvarnished, unambiguous, blindfolded but decidedly
not blind.
Lawsuits are supposed to be important
vehicles for social change. Abdouramane Hamadou
has used lawsuits in the Conciliation and arbitration arm of the National
Olympics and Sports Committee [Chambre de Conciliation et
d’Arbitrage du Comité national olympique et sportif du Cameroun- CCA/CNOSC)] and the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to speak about the rule of law that is
blindfolded but decidedly not blind.
His actions
and their outcomes speak for and to all of us – our law courts, civil society
actors, political parties … – all those who usually suffer injustice in silence
and resignation. Justice may seem to be absent in the anarchy and dictatorship
that passes for democracy here, but it is always present. It should always be
sought. That is the message of my hero of the FECAFFOT normalization Committee
saga – Abdouramane Hamadou!
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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