This paper examines thirty witchcraft cases reviewed by the Court of Appeal of Bertoua (East Province, Cameroon) during the period 1981-1984. The basic aim is to highlight the nature and sources of... Show moreThis paper examines thirty witchcraft cases reviewed by the Court of Appeal of Bertoua (East Province, Cameroon) during the period 1981-1984. The basic aim is to highlight the nature and sources of witchcraft accusations, the process of securing a conviction (i.e. proof), and finally, the magnitude of punishment meted out on sentencing. These issues are crystallized by a number of questions: Who initiates a witchcraft accusation and under what circumstances is such an accusation initiated? How do the modern courts establish proof in witchcraft accusations? What role does a witch doctor/diviner play in witchcraft proceedings? Are the modern State courts well suited to judge issues whose manifestations are strictly outside the limits of observable phenomena? A close review of the thirty cases shows that witchcraft accusations can be loosely classified into five main groups, according to their sources: village unrest and menace to State institutions; jealousy and hatred; quest for power; mystical cannibalism and irresistible impulses; and malpractices by witch doctors. The review is preceded by a brief survey of the colonial legacy on witchcraft and allied phenomena. Show less
The creation of the ONCPB (Office national de commercialisation des produits de base) in 1976 was a turning point in the history of government regulation of agricultural marketing in Cameroon. It... Show moreThe creation of the ONCPB (Office national de commercialisation des produits de base) in 1976 was a turning point in the history of government regulation of agricultural marketing in Cameroon. It went a long way in unifying and harmonizing the marketing arrangements in francophone and anglophone Cameroon. The ONCPB received legal powers to regulate and control the marketing of five export crops: cocoa, coffee, cotton, groundnuts and palm kernels. These powers do not dictate a standard pattern for ONCPB participation in marketing. Its commercial activities vary from crop to crop and between anglophone and francophone Cameroon, revealing a flexibility which seems characteristic for the Cameroonian authorities. ONCPB's collaboration with private enterprise, operating under licence, is noted for its close and vigilant supervision; relations between cooperative enterprise and the ONCPB are more relaxed but also require frequent negotiations and detailed agreement. Show less
