It is with a heavy heart that I learned today, Christmas Day 2024, of the passing away of Justice Paul Abine Ayah (aka Ayah Paul Abine), Cameroonian politician, public servant, and intransigent defender of the civil rights and fundamental freedoms of his fellow citizens.
In a country whose government requires civil servants to be subservient, Justice Ayah refused to be servile. He was a man of conviction and principle who, from inside the ruling party and as one of its elected representatives in the national parliament, denounced with courage, abnegation, and brazen frankness the persistent improprieties of a governance system predicated upon the purposeful disregard of the rule of law by the governing elites. For this, he paid a heavy price through the vicissitudes of a checkered professional career, financial hardship, unjust imprisonment, and the denial of essential medical care to which he was subjected.
Right to his last breath, he faced a series of deprivations inflicted upon him gratuitously by a vindictive and ruthless clique that did not approve of his political opinions and preferences.
Paul Ayah and I agreed totally on the genesis of the ‘Anglophone problem’ and the multitude of its nefarious manifestations. We judged its ravages upon the territory and people of Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions unacceptable and relentlessly strove to have them redressed. But we differed on the optimal solution to the ‘Anglophone problem’ after he veered away from advocating federalism and embraced the cause of separation and independence. Nevertheless, in the spirit of what we learned from the first generation of Southern Cameroon politicians and scholars at whose feet we grew up, we remained civil, courteous, and mutually respectful in our altercations. We both
fervently believed in the primacy of the force of argument over the argument of force.
The Honorable Justice Paul Abine Ayah lived and died for his principles and beliefs, placing the general interest above personal gain. He played his part. In exiting the stage at this time, he challenges us to play ours. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.
I extend my profound condolences to his bereaved family.
(Dr) Simon Munzu
