BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Infesting Cameroonian society like a canker worm is corruption. Even the church is not immune to corruption in Cameroon, which affects both the public and private sectors equally. The Cameroonian society has been troubled by this long-standing tendency, particularly in the fields of law and order, military, finance, education, and health. According to Transparency International indices, Cameroon has twice been ranked first among the world’s most corrupt nations, in 1998 and 1999. Corruption can appear in a number of ways, such as bribery, nepotism, graft, fraud, speed money, theft, pilferage, embezzlement, record-keeping fraud, and influence peddling.

Section 134 of the Cameroonian Penal Code makes corruption (whether an act is committed or not) a crime. Any “national, foreign or international civil servant or public employee, for himself or for a third party, solicits, accepts or receives any offer, promise, gift or present in order to perform, refrain from performing, or delay any act of his office,” is indicted by this law. Anyone who receives a reward as payment for previously having performed or refraining from performing an act is also charged under this clause. According to the widely held belief, corruption only exists between the’receiver’ and the ‘giver. This, however, is untrue because the “giver” also does greater evil. The Cameroonian Penal Code even penalizes the corruptor. According to the clause, “Whoever makes promises, offers, gifts and presents or yields to requests liable to result in corruption in order to obtain the performance, postponement or abstention from an act or one of the favours or benefits… shall be punished in a manner similar to that under section 134(1) above, whether corruption produced its effects or not.” Aside from s.137 (indulgence), s.142 (undue demand), s.160 (compulsion of public servant), s.161 (procuring influence), s.312 (employee corruption), and s.184 (misappropriation of public funds), the Penal Code also has other provisions that punish corruption in the public sector.

The government has never been more willing to fight the bad because Cameroon was named the world’s most corrupt country in 1998 and 1999. The administration used the catchphrase “Corruption kills the nation” in its battle against corruption. Every day, a corruption-related column appeared in the national daily Cameroon Tribune. The purpose of this campaign was to inform the people of Cameroon about the evils of corruption and the possible harm that it could cause to the country if it persisted. The state newspaper, the Cameroon Tribune, has led the charge in this fight by examining the illicit swelling of bills in Administrative services, graft in Educational facilities, the Police and the Army, customs, health institutions, post and telecommunications services, and the railway company, among other areas.

The Supreme State Audit and Public Service Minister at the time, Garga Haman Adji, launched a campaign against state money embezzlers at the beginning of the 1990s. He even went so far as to name corrupt officials and demand that they be punished by the presidency. 357 million CFA francs in total were taken in the embezzlement. The response he received was quite disheartening because his ministerial portfolio was changed, confining his expertise to changes of the civil service and the administrative system. He thus lost control of the Supreme State Audit. He left the government, claiming that the change was brought about by his staunch opposition to corruption.

Despite the fact that the initial phase of the fight against corruption had several shortcomings, some successes were noted. These included the Mfoundi High Court’s arrest and imprisonment of a number of high-profile embezzlers, including Michel Thierry Atangana and former SG of the Presidency Professor Titus Edzoa.

.

.

.