The South West Regional Judicial Police, who were mandated to probe into the academic fraud of the Mayor of Buea, Patrick Ekema Esunge, have reportedly completed their investigations and deposited their report at the South West Attorney General’s office, pending legal proceedings.
The investigation is coming barely 72 hours after the Senate of the University of Buea (UB), meeting at its 73rd session, resolved to strip Mayor Ekema Esunge of his Bachelors and Masters’ degrees obtained in the citadel of learning.
The UB Senate’s decision was informed by a committee that was set up by UB Vice Chancellor, Prof. Horace Ngomo Manga, to probe into what is today termed as academic scam.
It would be recalled that on November 14, 2017, when news about the fake certificate of the municipal authority broke, the Regional Secretary of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF), Christopher Tambe Tiku, filed a petition at the South West Attorney General’s office on the fraud allegations that were levelled against the Mayor. The petition was titled: “Allegation of Fraud by Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge.”
In the petition, Tambe Tiku wrote: “I have decided to avail myself of the Criminal Procedure Code which enjoins anyone having credible information relating to the commission of an offence to bring to the attention of the Judiciary. The Mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick Esunge was engaged in an academic fraud by introducing fake certificates to earn admission into the Department of History, University of Buea.”
After receiving the NCHRF Regional Secretary’s petition, the then South West Attorney General, Justice Emile Essombé, On December 7, 2017, sent a memo to the Chief of Regional Division for Judicial Police, titled: “Transformation of a Letter of Information.”
In the memo, justice Essombe wrote: “You are requested to conduct a swift investigation on the facts denounced therein, alleging the submission of fake certificates by Mr. Ekema Partick Esunge for his admission in the Department of History of the University of Buea. Upon completion of your findings, the outcome should be returned to my Legal Department.”
The Judicial Police boss immediately swung into action, while the committee set up by the UB VC was also investigating the same academic fraud. From the UB VC’s Committee findings, Mayor Ekema registered the GCE Advanced Level seven times and actually wrote four times but got only an ‘E’ Grade in History in each of the four times.
But going by the documents the municipal authority submitted, he had A Level French – C and History E”, but GCE Board records did not have t such results.
The aforementioned results are even contrary to the minimum requirement for admission at UB, which is two papers in one sitting or at least two papers in two sittings with ‘C’ grades. This was not the case. It was thus established that Mayor Ekema fraudulently got admission into the prestigious institution and the institution Senate decided to strip him of all the certificates obtained in UB. Meantime, legal action has been opened against the Mayor.
