ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT: 31-Year-Old Close Collaborator, Mme Tsemo Esperance, Drags Chairman Of Cameroon Human Rights Commission, Prof James Mouangue Kobila To Court

ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT:

31-Year-Old Close Collaborator, Mme Tsemo Esperance, Drags Chairman Of Cameroon Human Rights Commission, Prof James Mouangue Kobila To Court

Tsemo Esperance did not show up at the Disciplinary Council of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission on January 25, 2024

Two NGOs risk being charged with contempt of court, for claiming that their ‘joint investigation’ of the matter in court, shows that the allegations raised by Madam Tsemo Esperance against her boss are spurious

Since the complainant decided to go to court, why can’t the supporters of Prof James Mouangue Kobila, as well as the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, leave the matter in the hands of the court? That too is respect of human rights

Sharply contrasting views are being expressed over what looks like an unprecedented legal action against a Cameroonian authority for alleged sexual harassment. To be precise, a lawsuit was filed against the Chairman of the State owned Cameroon Human Rights Commission, CHRC, Prof James Mouange Kobila, by a close collaborator, Nkouete Messah Judith Esperance epse Kouobou Tsemo, who will be 32 in a few months, for alleged sexual harassment among others. The case or complaint was filed by ‘Citation Directe’ at the Yaounde Magistrate Court (Court of First Instance) – Administrative Center. The case was reportedly scheduled to come up for the first time in court on Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
Worthy of note, that the Cameroon Human Rights in Commission is what used to be known as National Commission of Human Rights and Freedoms, which is the name that many members of the public know. In fact following the Paris Accord, the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, in 1990 created the National Committee of Human Rights and Freedoms. On July 24, 2004, President Biya made a modification and the institution became known as the National Commission of Human Rights and Freedoms. Then the Presidential decree of July 19, 2019, again made modifications, with the National Commission of Human Rights and Freedoms becoming the Cameroon Human Rights Commission. Prof James Mouangue Kobila first acted as the Interim President or Chairman of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, known in French as “Commission des Droits de L’Homme du Cameroun’, following the death of Dr Chemuta Divine Banda. He was later appointed or confirmed as Chairman of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission by a presidential decree.

Former Chief Of Cabinet Of The President Of CHRC

Meanwhile, it should be noted that the young lady, Nkoete Messah Judith Esperance epse Tsemo Esperance, who raised the complaint of alleged sexual harassment against her boss, was born in Yaounde on May 25, 1992. She was recruited by the Cameroon Human Rights in Commission on May 14, 2018, ‘en qualite de cadre’, that is, a senior personnel. On November 27, 2020, Mme Tsemo Esperance was appointed Chief of Service of Translation and Interpretation by the President of the Cameroon Human Rights in Commission, Prof James Mouangue Kobila.
Then on August 18, 2022, Madam Tsemo Esperance who was a little over 30 years old was appointed Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission. Curiously enough, barely close to six months later, precisely on February 6, 2023, Tsemo Esperance was removed from the post of Chief of Cabinet and sent back to her former post of Chief of Service of Translation and Interpretation. That is the post she officially occupies to date. It is not yet clear to THE MENTOR, what recently provoked or pushed Madam Tsemo Esperance to file the Lawsuit against the boss, accusing him as mentioned above, of sexual harassment among others.

Contrasting Views By Opposing Camps
Meanwhile, the case of alleged sexual harassment filed against the President of CHRC by one of her close collaborators first came to the limelight a few weeks ago through social media. As typical of social media, there have been sharply contrasting opinions and allegations on the matter. There are supporters and sympathizers of the President of the CHRC, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, who are strongly dismissing the allegation of sexual harassment and others, raised against him by his close collaborators as spurious. Not only do they vow that the allegation of sexual harassment is a blatant lie, but they also say that the allegation is meant to tarnish the image of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission. Hummm!
On the other hand, there are supporters and sympathizers of Mrs Tsemo Esperance who are insisting that she is a victim of sexual harassment, and are praising her courage to have resorted to resolve to take legal action against her boss. This category of people alleges that many women, especially young women, in Cameroon’s public and private sectors, are victims of sexual harassment, because those unscrupulous men who commit these ills think that women generally shy away, probably out of fear, from openly denouncing such acts, not to talk of taking legal action.

Controversial Declarations By Two NGOs

Meanwhile, observers say two local NGOs run the risk of being charged with contempt of court, for having on January 20, 2024, issued a joint declaration claiming that they investigated the allegations raised against the President of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission by a close collaborator whose name they did not mention, and that the allegations were false. One of two local NGOs in question is ‘Mouvement International pour la Defense des Droits et Libertes Fondamentales’, that is, the International Movement for the Defense of Fundamental Rights and Liberties. The other NGO known as WISSUMATE, “is specialized in the harmonization of languages and promotion of Culture”.
It should be noted that the three page report of the two NGOs which was published by an online news organ,’ La Voix Du Koat’ said they got to know about the allegations of sexual harassment and others raised against the President of CHRC , Prof James Mouange Kobila, on the social media. The two NGOs said nothing in their report about how their allege investigation was carried out, but insisted that the relationship between the President of the CHRC and his close collaborator was purely professional. “Il existe une proximite professionelle entre le President de la CDHC et sa collaboratrice, cree par la specificite de leur collaboration” (There exist a professional proximity between the President of the CHRC and his collaborator, created by the specificity of their collaboration”.
The NGOs claimed that from their investigation, the allegations raised against the President of the CHRC by his close collaborator is a “probably vengeance”, though they did not give any details. Rather, the two NGOs cried out that the action taken against the President of CHRC by her collaborator can be seen as a machination to render fragile the human rights environment in Cameroon, which they said has seen a remarkable amelioration since Prof James Mouange Kobila and his team took function at the Cameroon Human Rights Commission.

Suspicions About The NGOs’ Mission

As aforementioned, the two NGOs, curiously enough, in their declaration did not mention the name of Mrs Tsemo Esperance. They only talked of a close collaborator of the President of the Commission. Also, the NGOs did not meet the complainant to get her own side of the story during their so called investigation. It should as well be noted that the two NGOs in their joint declaration did not say much about the allegations that Mrs Tsemo Esperance raised in her Law suit, as well as about their alleged investigation. Rather, over half of the three page – declaration instead dwelled on Law No. 2019 /014 of 19 July 2019, on the creation and function of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, which was promulgated in Law by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya. They dwelled also dwelled on how the President of the Commission, Prof James Mouange Kobila, has been doing a formidable job.
The two NGOs in their conclusion, heaped praises on the President of the Cameroon of Human Rights Commission, Prof James Mouange Kobila, and his entire team, for the great work they were said to be doing, and encouraged them to continue in that direction.
However the report or declaration on the alleged investigation by the two NGOs has raised a lot of suspicion that they were on an image cleansing mission. A number of questions are being raised. How for example did the NGO, WISSUMATE, specialized in the harmonization of languages and the promotion of culture, suddenly get involved in investigating an allegation of sexual harassment? What competence does the NGO even have, to carry out an investigation on such an issue? What was the interest of the two NGOs to carry out the alleged investigation? How did the two NGOs that are not of the same domains, come about doing the joint investigation? Assuming that the two NGOs carried out the investigation, why did they embark on investigating a matter that is in court? Does that not constitute contempt of court, or an attempt to try to influence justice?

Complainant Summoned To Disciplinary Council

Meanwhile, Mrs Tsemo Esperance was summoned to face the Disciplinary Council at the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, on Thursday, January 25, 2024. There is no doubt that the real reason for the decision that Mrs Tsemo should face the Disciplinary Council, was definitely her decision to drag the Chairman of the Commission to court. However a correspondence from the Office of the Chairman of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, that was addressed to the President of the Disciplinary Council of the Commission by one of the close collaborators of the Commission’s Chairman, said the reason for asking that Mrs Tsemo Esperance should face the Disciplinary Council, was because she has repeatedly refused to respond to ‘Demandes d”Explication’, that is, Queries (Query – letters) addressed to her. ‘Refus de repondre a la demandes d’explication addressee par la Secretaire Premanent de la CDHC, sur instruction du President’. That is, Mrs Tsemo Esperance refused to respond to query – letters addressed to her by the Permanent Secretary of the Cameroon of Human Rights in Commission by the President or Chairman of the Commission.
It was revealed in the correspondence that there are a total of a total of four queries and a letter of observation, in the file of Tsemo Esperance. According to the correspondence, the first query was addressed to Mrs Tsemo on August 13, 2021, the second on September 24, 2021, while the Chairman of the CHRC himself addressed a letter of observation to her on December 27, 2022. The third query was addressed by the Permanent Secretary of the CHRC to Mrs Tsemo Esperance on November 24, 2023, and the fourth on December 12, 2023. Curiously enough, it was stated in the correspondence that Tsemo Esperance has all this while never been sanctioned for refusing to respond to a query (“Aucune sanction disciplinaire au titre de celles prevues par les textes’).

Why Was Mrs Tsemo Esperance Never Sanctioned?

Interestingly enough, it was stated in the correspondence addressed to the President of the Disciplinary Council at CHRC, that there are provisions in the texts of the Commission, that dish out sanctions on a staff of the Commission, that refuses to respond to an official query, but that Mrs Tsemo was never sanctioned. In stating this fact in the correspondence that came from the office of the Chairman of CHRC, the office was seemingly out to justify why it was necessary to summon Mrs Tsemo Esperance to appear at the Disciplinary Council, and why she should be sanctioned. For one thing, if she had earlier been sanctioned by the application of the provisions in the texts for refusing to respond to a query, then it would have been unjustified to summon her again to appear at the Disciplinary Council of the Commission, or for the Disciplinary Council to again sanction her.
But the question here is, why was Mrs Tsemo Esperance not sanctioned by the application of the provisions in the text of the Commission, for allegedly refusing to respond to queries, with the first two queries dating back to 2021? Why is it now that the office of the Chairman of CHRC wants Mrs Tsemo to face the Disciplinary Council for allegedly refusing to respond to queries? Also, it is intriguing that Mrs Tsemo Esperance who allegedly received two queries in 2021 and refused to respond, was in 2022 appointed Chief of Cabinet of the Chairman of CHRC.
Furthermore, it was stated in correspondence from the office of the Chairman of the CHRC addressed to the President of the Disciplinary Council, that Mrs Tsemo Esperance who was appointed Chief of Cabinet of the Chairman of the Commission on August 18, 2022, was removed from that post on February 6, 2023, that is less than six months in the post, because of ‘faute lourdes’, meaning that she committed very serious faults. Curiously enough she was not sanctioned for the alleged serious faults, but instead sent back to her former post of Chief of Service of Translation and Interpretation.

Plans To Fire Mrs Tsemo Esperance From CHRC?

Meanwhile, as aforementioned, Mrs Tsemo Esperance did not show up at the Disciplinary Council of the Cameroon Human Rights in Commission on January 25, 2024. However, before that day, Mrs Tsemo’s lawyer had reportedly informed CHRC that her client would not be present at the Disciplinary Council because of health problems. However, supporters and sympathizers of the Chairman of the Commission dismissed that excuse as fake. Polycarpe Xavier Atangana, one of the staunch supporters of the Chairman of CHRC, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, who has persistently been insisting on the social media that the accusation of sexual harassment raised by Mrs Tsemo Esperance is “un mensonge”, that is, a lie, and who appears to be close to the Commission, said Mrs Tsemo made a big mistake by refusing to show up at Disciplinary Council. He said the Disciplinary Council was supposed to provide an opportunity or a forum for Mrs Tsemo to defend herself for having filed a Law suit against her boss, and to also provide evidences to back her complaints against her boss, if at all there was any evidence.
This was clear that the real reason to summon Mrs Tsemo Esperance to the Disciplinary Council was the allegations or accusations of sexual harassment and others that, she has raised against the Chairman of CHRC. Polycape Xavier Atangana disclosed that Mrs Tsemo Esperance would be sanctioned for not respecting the summon that was issued to her by the Disciplinary Council of CHRC, and that she even run the risk of being dismissed from the Commission. What Atangana said came to pass a few days later. On Monday, January 29, 2024, French language newspaper, Sans Detour, reported in its lead story that the Disciplinary Council of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, had slammed an eight day suspension on Nkouete Messah Judith Esperance epse Kouobou Tsemo, and that her dismissal from the Commission was eminent. The eight-day suspension started on Monday, January 29

“ Accusation Is Diabolic ”

24 hours before the case of alleged sexual harassment was scheduled to open at the Yaounde Magistrate Court, a video recorded by a lady said to be an ‘Assistant de Direction’, working at the Cabinet of the Chairman of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, was posted on l the social media by Sirene Infos. In a short message, the lady whose name THE MENTOR could not clearly get, described as diabolic, the allegation of sexual harassment raised against the Chairman of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission by Mrs Tsemo Esperance. The lady, who said she has been working at the Cabinet of the Chairman of the Commission since 2020, said she had never seen any sign or sensed any suspicious, in line with allegation or accusation of sexual harassment by the Chairman of the Commission, The lady accused Tsemo Esperance of being out to sully the image of the great personality that Prof Kobila is.
It should be noted that even with all that one has gathered on the allegation of sexual harassment raised by the Chief of Service of Translation and Interpretation at the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, Nkouete Messah Judith Esperance epse Kouobou Tsemo, against the Chairman of the Commission, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, THE MENTOR is NOT in a position to say whether the accusation of sexual harassment is true or false. Rather, THE MENTOR thinks that since Mrs Tsemo Esperance decided to take the matter to court, the matter should be allowed to the court to decide. If at the end of the day, the court considers that the accusation of sexual harassment raised by Mrs Tsemo Esperance against her boss is unfounded, the Chairman of CHRC, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, will have the right to sue her for defamation.

Why Not Leave The Matter For The Court To Decide?

The accusation of sexual harassment, especially against a high personality in society, can really be very damaging to the image of the person. But one can also question how wise it was for the Chairman of CHRC, Prof Mouangue Kobila, to appoint a young married lady (30 years), who is not even a relative, as the Chief of his Cabinet, knowing the nature of the work of Chiefs or Directors of Cabinets. One is not however insinuating that the allegation of sexual harassment is true. One is saying this because according to Tsemo Esperance’s supporters and sympathizers, the alleged sexual harassment by the Chairman of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission occurred when she was Chief of Cabinet of the Chairman of the Commission.
It should be noted that accusation of sexual harassment is a complicated issue, and most of the time, only the accused and the complainant, that is the man and the woman, know the truth. In the minds of the man and the woman, they know who among the two of them is lying. That is why THE MENTOR considers it irrational, that some people should out rightly be dismissing the accusation of sexual harassment raised by Mrs Tsemo Esperance as false, just as it is also irrational for some people to be insisting that the accusation is true.
Worst still, almost all these people that have openly taken sides on the issue, do not even work at the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, to have perhaps from their observations had some ideas or suspicions concerning what could have been happening between Mrs Tsemo Esperance and her boss. THE MENTOR also finds it very inappropriate, that the Disciplinary Council at the Cameroon Human Rights Commission would want to handle a matter that is already in court, more so a matter which has to do with an accusation of alleged sexual harassment involving the boss of the Commission.

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