The international lawyer wonders how it came to condemn young Patrick Mengue because of a wish he expressed.
Six months of imprisonment. This is the sentence that the Yaoundé administrative center court of first instance pronounced on July 27, 2026, against Patrick Mengue for “insulting the President of the Republic.” He is accused of having asked God to call back the head of state in a comment on Facebook: “Lord, you are already getting closer to the target, one more effort please.” The court decision does not leave Cameroonians indifferent.
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Lawyer Christian Bomo Ntimbane, who claims to be an opponent of the regime, protests against this conviction. According to him, wishing death upon the President of the Republic “is an offense that practically does not exist in democratic countries around the world.” Otherwise, many people would be convicted worldwide because they wished death upon heads of state or because they expressed extreme disapproval of their policies.
With his 30 years of legal practice, the lawyer insists that he has never seen in Cameroon or internationally a person sentenced because of a wish they expressed. The lawyer expresses his concern by wondering how many Cameroonians will find themselves in Patrick Mengue’s situation for having wished death upon authorities they disapprove of.
By his position, the lawyer joins his colleague Batam Nkolong who defended the young Cameroonian in court. At the end of the hearing, he declared that justice was not independent. The truth did not prevail in this case, hence his commitment to file an appeal before the Center Court of Appeal.
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