CAMEROON JAILS SINGER FOR ROLE IN FEBRUARY RIOTS

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000949 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE ALSO FRO AF/C AND DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL CM SUBJECT: CAMEROON JAILS SINGER FOR ROLE IN FEBRUARY RIOTS ¶1. (U) On September 24, the Mungo High Court in the Littoral Province sentenced prominent singer and political activist "Lapiro de Mbanga" to three years in prison, claiming Lapiro had instigated rioting in the Littoral Province town of Mbanga during the February unrest that engulfed 31 cities in Cameroon. Lapiro, whose real name is Pierre Roger Lambo Sandjo, was also ordered to pay 280 million CFA (about $560,000) in damages payable to a French-owned banana plantation and the local tax office. While not commenting specifically on the Lapiro case, Embassy contacts working in the banana sector told us that local political jockeying in the Mbanga area was particularly heated during the time of the riots. ¶2. (U) The government prosecutor had requested 20 years in prison and damages of 1.1 billion CFA ($2.2 million). Local administration officials and political figures (including rival traditional leaders) provided testimony for the state. Lapiro's lawyers have appealed the ruling, arguing that the testimonies were politically motivated and self-contradictory. Lapiro's appeal will be heard in the Littoral Court of Appeals in Douala, Cameroon's largest city and the locus of the February riots. ¶3. (U) A nationally-recognized folk singer who penned a popular song expressing opposition to Biya's removal of presidential term limits, Lapiro is associated with the leading opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF). Many observers were shocked by the heavy sentence meted out to Lapiro, and most media reports highlighted the political and French business angles to the case. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Despite clear political-economical overtones, the February unrest was marked by rampant criminal activity, including looting and rioting, that cost the country more than 32 billion CFA ($64 million) according to the Ministry of Finance. Lapiro's conviction resonates more as scape-goating and political score-settling than genuine justice, especially since President Biya pardoned almost all of those arrested during the riots. It is not clear that Lapiro's case will catalyze any public reaction, but it will undoubtedly exacerbate the population's already simmering political frustrations.