Supreme Court Silent On Lapiro AppealSupreme Court Silent On Lapiro Appeal | Cameroonwebnews| Site d’information et d’opinions sur l’actualité du Cameroun

More than one year after the Cameroon‘s renowned artist, Pierre Roger Lambo Sandjo aka Lapiro de Mbanga, appealed against the ruling of the Littoral Appeal Court, the Supreme Court has not reacted.

Contacted by The Post in Douala on August 3, Lapiro’s lead defence lawyer, Barrister Augustin Mbami, said since they filed the appeal, they have not heard from the Supreme Court. “We have since been waiting,” he said.

Lapiro was first arrested in his native Mbanga Town where he is also a third class chief, in March 2008 and charged at the Mungo High Court in Nkongsamba with instigating the looting and destruction of public and private property in Mbanga during the February 2008 unrest.
Though Lapiro denied the charges, he was slammed a three-year jail term on September 24, 2008, and fined FCFA 280 million for damages to Societe des Plantations de Mbanga, SPM, and the Taxation Centre (Ministry of Finance).

Lapiro filed an appeal at the Littoral Appeal Court in Douala against the Mungo High Court ruling, and was moved to the New Bell Prison. Despite evidences Lapiro’s defence presented in court, the Appeal Court in a verdict maintained the ruling of the Mungo High Court.

There have been many calls from local and international human rights groups and media organs for the government to liberate Lapiro to no avail. There is now increasing doubts as to whether the Supreme Court will call up the case before Lapiro’s term ends in March 2011.

By Joe Dinga Pefok|Monday, August 09, 2010|Thepost|