A civil society group has initiated court action for the over CFA 250 million swindled by FAMM Cameroon from 3000 customers to be reimbursed.

Bamenda is not at ease with itself since FAMM Cameroon sealed their offices and vamoosed when least expected. Their usually hustling and bustling office in the neighbourhood of Finance Junction has been deserted since October 2007, but for their conspicuous billboard carrying the Cameroon and American flags. Three years after FAMM Cameroon caused North Westerners to rush for their offer of healthcare and social assistance, they are off with barely a service car, Lt. 1425V in the premises to see. In effect, FAMM Cameroon came with a lot of excitement and hope for the miserable and the unemployed. Bamenda inhabitants rushed to register with CFA 200,000 each claiming that it was the gateway to employment. Today, the story is different with many gnashing their teeth and scratching their heads as they are helpless without money, no jobs and no FAMM Cameron to tell them what went wrong.

The coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in Bamenda sums it up in what they call ‘abuse of confidence, fraud, outright tricks and misinformation”. Close to one year since FAMM Cameroon offices were sealed, the coalition, “Dynamique Citoyenne” or Responsible Citizenship has initiated a court action with a team of lawyers including Barrister Henry Kemende, Gideon Nji, Sangou, etc, currently studying the files to take up the suit. Nkwenti, leader of the North West Focal Point of the coalition told Cameroon Tribune that they have about 250 files from victims complaining about how they were duped or tricked in their search for opportunities in the job market. Nkwenti finds it inconceivable that the high rate of unemployment, misery and vulnerability of Cameroonians should be exploited to dupe citizens. The coalition believes that by seeking justice in the Courts of law, Citizens will be protected and others deterred from taking advantage of misery to trick and mislead the community.

Meanwhile, Delphine Fanfon, the Manager of the North West Chapter of the NGO says she was misled to believe in FAMM Cameroon. “After two years of FAMM Cameroon operations, we decided in October 2007 to stop going to work as we had no pay and, worse still, no response from our hierarchy in Yaounde. We actually felt abandoned,” she lamented.


CHOVES LOH, Regina LIENGU ETAKA