CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides the background to the study, discusses the problem that necessitated the research, the methodology employed, the objectives to be achieved and the significance and justification for the study, amongst others.

1.1 Background To The Study

The police, by the very nature of their function, are an anomaly in a free society. They are invested with a great deal of authority under a system of government in which authority is reluctantly granted, and when granted, sharply curtailed.”  The horizon of ethical thought in our time is framed by the respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Therefore the yardstick for measuring the extent to which law enforcement officers respect human rights and the rule of law in the course of the performance of their duty is the consistency and conformity with which criminal trail procedure successfully hold agents accountable for abuses of human rights and the rule of law.

The enormous power wielded by the police, their possession and use of firearms, and the inevitable practice of discretion in decisions relating to arrest, searches and pre-trial detention require that law enforcement officers operate within the law .

Indeed, it is in the restraint of the use of power and discretion vested in the police that the respect and equality of the citizen and the liberty and integrity of persons in a state are secured.

Cameroon belongs to the family of nations that recognize in the equality and dignity of human beings, an essential value that should serve as the foundation for the creation, interpretation and application of positive law. This is captured by section 1(3) of the Revised Cameroon Constitution of 9th May 1996, “the Republic of Cameroon… “Shall ensure the equality before the law of all its citizens?”.

Section 1 of Penal Code emphasises that there is no exemption by enacting that all persons are subject to the criminal law. This section clothes in legislative form, the principle already embodied in the constitution that all men without distinction are equal before the law.

The various parties involved in a criminal proceeding have had their roles redefined in the code. The Judicial Police Officer (JPO) who is part of this procedure is no exception. Although this code gives the Judicial Police Officer considerable powers in the conduct of investigations, it has also enacted a number of measures to protect the suspect against his (JPO) illegal actions such as arbitrariness.

Judicial Police Officers are representatives of the authority whose decisions to a great extent determine whether other components of the criminal justice network will take official action. They are auxiliaries of the State Counsel who directs them. They consist of police, gendarmes   and staff of certain departments (e.g. the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection, the Ministry of Forestry and Wild Life etc.) who are empowered by the law to carry out investigations in criminal matters.

Under the CIC, the JPO acted as “a wolf for the user”. The judicial police officer took advantage of the fact that this code did not take into consideration the protection of the rights of the suspect. The latter was then at the mercy of his investigator. The CIC did not provide any means of prosecution against the JPO. The CPC changed all these practices, it is a tool for the protection of the rights of the suspect. This does not mean that the powers of the JPO have been weakened. On the contrary, they were reinforced while adding respect for the rights of the suspect during proceedings.

1.2 Statement Of The Research Problem

According to Section 122 of the Cameroonian Criminal Procedure Code, while in detention people may at any time be visited by their counsel, members of their family, and any other person following their treatment while in detention.

According to international human rights standards, people deprived of their liberty must be held only in a place of detention that is officially recognized. Cameroon’s Criminal Procedure Code also states that for police custody, a suspect shall be detained “in a judicial police cell wherein he remains for a limited period available to and under the responsibility of a judicial police officer”

However, this is not the case in Cameroon. The judicial police and administration of justice in Cameroon have been marred by frequent violations of the rights of citizens by police officers. These violations encompass various aspects, including arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, excessive use of force, and disregard for due process. Such actions not only undermine the principles of justice and fairness but also erode public trust in the law enforcement system.

In May 2020, OHCHR received allegations of continued reprisals against Mr. Nfor Hanson Nchanji and his close relatives, following his participation in the 10th session of the Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva from 30 November to 1 December 2017.

Harassment and vilification of Mr. Hanson Nchanji reportedly began in December 2017 and continued into the reporting period, including online attacks by some pro-government social media users portraying him as a terrorist. One post called him “a traitor to the republic of Cameroon” and stated: “You went to the UN to sell us but God punished you.” On 2 December 2017, when Mr. Hanson Nchanji returned to Cameroon after the Forum, a close relative had reportedly received a letter with death threats.

In March 2019, Mr. Hanson Nchanji’s family home was allegedly burned down by soldiers and his close relatives relocated. The incidents were reported to OHCHR at the time but could not be publicly reported due to protection concerns. Mr. Hanson Nchanji, a human rights journalist investigating and reporting on the Anglophone crisis and at the time of the Forum the Editor-In-Chief of the Douala-based Equinoxe Television and founder of the on-line Cameroon News Agency was later arrested and died in custody.

These recurring violations of citizens’ rights highlight the urgent need for reforms within the judicial police and administration of justice in Cameroon.

1.3 Research Question

The researcher seeks to answer the following questions which can be categorized under general questions and a set of specific questions.

1.3.1 General Research Question

The general question is what is the role of the judicial police in Officer in criminal investigations in Cameroon?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

1. What is the legal and institutional framework for Judicial Police Officers in Cameroon?
2. To what extent do JPOs effectively perform their duties?
3. What policy recommendations can be made to address this problem?

Check out: Law Project Topics with Materials