The Case Of Alleged Sexual Harassment Against “A Big Man’ In Yaounde

 Background To The Case Of Alleged Sexual Harassment Filed Against The President Of The Cameroon Human Rights Commission, By His Former Close Collaborator  

  The young lady, Nkoete Messah Judith Esperance epse Kouobou Tsemo, who filed at the Yaounde Magistrate Court (Administrative Center), the case of alleged sexual harassment against her boss, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, the President of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, CHRC, was born in Yaounde on May 25, 1992. This means that she clocked 32 years last May 25.

She was recruited by the Cameroon Human Rights in Commission on May 14, 2018, ‘en qualite de cadre’, that is, as 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 then 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 that post of Chief of Cabinet and sent back to her former post of Chief of Service of Translation and Interpretation.  The President of CHRC did not give any official reason as to why Tsemo Esperance was removed from the post of Chief of Cabinet, barely close to six months in the post.

There is also the issue that Tsemo Esperance went back to her post of Chief of Service of Translation and Interpretation in February 2023, but it was only by the end of the year that she raised the allegation of sexual harassment.  It is not yet clear to THE MENTOR, what immediately provoked or pushed her to file the Law suit against her boss by the end of 2023, accusing him of sexual harassment among other charges. This was over nine months or so, after she left the post of Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission.

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 was no doubt, that the real reason behind that summon, was 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 President, said the reason for asking that Mrs Tsemo Esperance should face the Disciplinary Council, was because she had repeatedly refused to respond to 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 Human Rights Commission, on the instruction of the President or Chairman of the Commission.

It was stated in the correspondence that there were 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 was all this while never sanctioned for refusing to respond to a query (“Aucune sanction disciplinaire au titre de celles prevues par les textes’).

Why Was Mrs Tsemo Esperance Not Sanctioned?

Interestingly enough, it was also pointed out 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 CHRC 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 President of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, 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  is why was Mrs Tsemo Esperance was 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 only in January 2024 after Mrs Tsemo Esperance had filed the case against the President of CHRC for alleged sexual harassment, threat, defamation, blackmail and so on, that the office of the President of CHRC wanted 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 the Cabinet of the President 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 President 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 then 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, 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 of the President of CHRC dismissed that excuse as fake.  Polycarpe Xavier Atangana, one of the staunch supporters of the President of CHRC, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, who repeatedly insisted on the social media that the accusation of sexual harassment raised by Mrs Tsemo  Esperance was “un mensonge”, that is, a lie, and who appeared 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 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, that she  raised against the President of  CHRC.  Polycape Xavier Atangana disclosed that Mrs Tsemo Esperance would be sanctioned for not respecting the summon which was issued to her by the Disciplinary Council of CHRC, and that she even ran 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.

Mrs Tsemo Esperance Fired From CHRC

Meanwhile Mrs Tsemo Esperance still failed to appear before the Disciplinary Council when she was summoned for the second time. She still raised health reasons for her absence. The same thing happened when she was summoned for the third time to appear at the Disciplinary Council on February 28, 2024. This time around, the Disciplinary Council in a resolution made a proposal to the President of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, to fire Mrs Tsemo Esperance.  The President of CHRC, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, who acted as if he had been waiting for that, wasted no time to fire Tsemo Esperance. . On February 29, 2024, that is, barely a day after the meeting of the Disciplinary Council, the President of CHRC addressed a correspondence to Nkouete Messah Judith Esperance epse Kouobou Tsemo, declaring that she had been sacked from CHRC on the proposal of the Disciplinary Council.

The decision of the Disciplinary Council of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, to summon a senior official of the Commission, Madam Tsemo Esperance, after she filed a case against the boss for alleged sexual harassment, is considered by many as controversial. Not to talk of the proposal that was made to the Commission’s President that the lady should be sacked.   The Disciplinary Council of CHRC which is headed by a woman, most likely acted on “high instruction”.  The Disciplinary Council would have left the matter in the hands of the court, since it was already in court, than to summon the lady  (plaintiff) to question her on the issue, under the pretext that she did not respond to four query – letters that were allegedly issued to her, two of which allegedly dated back to 2021.  What is very likely is that if Madam Tsemo Esperance happens to win the case that is presently in court,  she will file a case against  the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, for wrongful dismissal.

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