Rev. Pastor Samuel Lifanda Ebiama, former Government Delegate for Limbe City Council, last week regained freedom from Kondengui Maximum Prison after spending eleven months, 14 days, awaiting trial for alleged embezzlement and mismanagement of the sum of FCFA 160 million while he served as Gov’t Delegate.

Released alongside Lifanda were Casimir Nyime Lyonga, former Technical Chief of Urban Affairs; and Priso Simon Mokosa, former Chief of Service for Urbanism at the Limbe City Council. Nyime and Mokosa were accused of mismanaging and pocketing some FCFA 20 million and FCFA 2.5 million respectively.

After a National Anti-Corruption Commission 2012 Report and the Supreme State Audit Report that indicted the trio for embezzlement and mismanagement, they were summoned to appear at the Special Criminal Court, Yaoundé on June 9 and 10, 2015.

After examining the case against them, Justice Wo’Minko Blaise, sent them to Kondengui prison for six months to await trial. While in Kondengui, Rev. Lifanda who had initially denied he embezzled and mismanaged Council funds wore his thinking cap and decided to throw in the towel by accepting to pay what he was accused of, the only condition for his release or face a jail term. Casimir Nyime and Simon Mokosa also paid what they were accused of mismanaging.

Before they could be formally charged to Court, they paid all what they were accused of owing and the Court ruled on a no-trial basis when their Lawyers pleaded for leniency after seeing proof of payments. That’s how their freedom came about on May 27, 2016.

We gathered that Casimir and Mokosa would have long paid their share but for Lifanda who kept convincing them that he was not guilty and wanted it settled in Court.

He allegedly advised them not to pay until the determination of the substantive matter in Court but was caught off guard by the State corruption network and taken to Kondengui after appearing before an Examining Magistrate. Lifanda had told The Star newspaper months before his arrest that he was in Court with CONAC.

At the residence of Lifanda after his release, a few people could be seen in front of his home, while at Mokosa’s residence, there was total public celebration.

Most Limbe city dwellers were however, shocked that the former Government Delegate, Lifanda, could embezzle such amount of state money as a man in the cassock. As for the two others, observers blamed them for their woes but thank God they have been released after learning the bitter lesson of being incarcerated at Kondengui.

All attempts to speak to any of the released Kondengui tenants met with a stone-wall as they were all still indoors – not allowing access to our reporters.