Court slams Tsimi Evouna 188MFCFA for wrongful demolition

By Amindeh Blaise Atabong in Yaounde 

 

Tsimi Evouna: YCC governemnet delegate

The appellant jurisdiction of the administrative bench of the supreme court on July 23, 2014 confirmed the payment; by the Yaounde city council to the American citizen, Mary Abeck Akwa epouse Taminang the sum of 188MFCFA. The amount represents an award of damages in her favour following an act of wrongful demolition by the Yaounde city council on the instruction of its government delegate, Tsimi Evouna Gilbert.

Tsimi Evouna burnt his fingers when on May 10, 2007, he instructed officials of the Yaounde city council in flagrant violation of the law to demolish a building that the US citizen was constructing at the Golf neigbourhood in the nation’s capital . Counsel for Mary Abeck approached the Yaounde city council for an out of court settlement of the matter but owing to the fact that there was no response from the city council, the administrative bench of the supreme court was seized with an astronomical claim of 1.688.880.000.

The court administrative bench of the supreme court had on September 7, 2011, passed a judgment in favour of Mary Abeck Akwa, in the sum of 188.880.000FCFA.

The procureur general of the supreme court filed an appeal against the judgment based on the fact that the amount awarded was exorbitant. The Yaounde city council appealed against the said judgment and Mary Abeck Akwa, also crossed appeal on grounds that the amount was insignificant.

After the exchange of submissions by all the protagonists and the report of the rappoteur, the matter was enrolled for hearing at the appellate jurisdiction of the administrative bench of the supreme court.

When the matter was called, neither the city council nor their counsel appeared even though there was proof in the court’s file that summonses to appear were regularly served on them. With no reason for the absence of the Yaounde city council advanced, the court decided to go ahead to hear the matter in their absence.

 When hearing commenced, the rappoteur intimated in his report that the award of damages be directed against the city council and not the state of Cameroon and that the award of the lower court in the sum of 188.880.000FCFA be maintained.

When the floor was given to Barrister Fombad Mujem, counsel for Mary Abeck, he in a thunderous address held the administrative bench of the supreme court spellbound for over thirty minutes ; arguing why the court should increase the award of 188.880.000FCFA that was made by the lower jurisdiction. H e argued that contrary to the averments of the state counsel, it is a trite principle in law that for breach of contract, the quantum of damages is to place the victim at the position he would have been if the contract was executed fully.

He argued that if Mary Abeck had completed her building, giving the rate of rents in that particular area of Yaounde, the building could easily reach rents of five million per month and as of the time the judgment was passed, the rents would have fetched her, 400.000.000FCFA and that as of today, the building would have fetched her four billion.

So Barrister Fombad urged the court to increase the special and general damages to one billion, six hundred and eighty eight hundred and eighty thousand as claimed at the lower court. Barrister Fombad intimated that by virtue of the fact that the city council engaged on signing a cancellation of the permit and back-dating it, it is a sign of bad faith that should not be condoned by the court.

The matter was set aside for judgment and the court took two hours of recess to deliberate for judgment. When the court resumed at about 4.15pm, judgment was handed down by the first president of the supreme court, Justice Clement Atangana.

In his judgment, the court dismissed the appeal of the procureur general and upheld the two appeals of the Yaounde city council and Mary Abeck Akwa. The court maintained the award of188.880.000FCFA as was awarded by the lower court and ordered that the damages be executed against the Yaounde city council that has a separate juristic personality with financial autonomy.

Contacted after the pronouncement of the judgment, Barrister Fombad, who appeared seemingly satisfied, told pressmen that he still thought that a slightly higher award would have been more equitable for all the parties. For her part, Mary Abeck Akwa epouse Taminang, said her first and most important satisfaction is that the fact that the highest court of the state of Cameroon has proven that no one is above the law.