|
|
| ACTUALITE |
12.10.2006
The Story of Mpondo Akwa (1905): Dr. Moses Levi of Altona defending Prince Mpondo from Kamerun
|
Elisa von Joeden-Forgey
On 27 June 1905, Prince Mpondo Akwa found himself in front of the criminal court in Altona being tried for eight counts of fraud and for fraudulently using the title of nobility. He was acquitted the same day. Throughout Mpondo´s later years in Germany, his lawyer, Dr. Moses Levi (2.3.1873 - 4.3.1938), bore witness not only to the contradictions faced by Africans living under German colonialism, but also to the promise and limits of Western liberal legal institutions in the face of these contradictions. In the defense speech published here (note PPS see book page 9 to 54), the young lawyer combines a stunning reformist critique of colonial practice with various strategies to ensure that his African client be treated fairly and equitably before the law. Although his arguments demonstrate a remarkable creativity, broadness of mind and critical insight regarding colonization, they also demonstrate the difficulties caused for metropolitan law by the very existence of colonies and by the unpreventable border crossings of colonial subjects.
Mpondo´s lawyer was a courageous and thoughtful young man of thirty-two. By 1905 he had developed a keen sense of the injustices suffered by persons of color in Germany, even earning himself the nickname "Gypsy-Papa" for his pro bono representation of Roma-Sinti residents of Hamburg-Altona. The tradition Levi es¬tablished early on in his career continued throughout it - Levi represented not only Mpondo Akwa pro bono, but also many clients after him. Levi was born into an established Jewish family in Altona that traced his roots back to the sixteenth century. His maternal grandfather was the last judge of the then existing Jewish court. The Altona Jewish community was strongly influenced both by religious orthodoxy and Enlightenment ideals, and historically enjoyed freedoms under the Danish kings that were denied to the residents of the free city-state of Hamburg. Levi´s daughter, Herta Grove, now a resident of Philadelphia, describes her father in the following manner: "My father was able to effect a meaningful execution of ancient rituals by a marriage of respect for tradition with the fearlessness of a liberal."
Perhaps it was this combination of respect for the moral lessons of Judaism and the strong belief in liberal institutions that influenced the tenor of his defense. Dr. Levi did not call for the dismantling of the colonial system, but rather its reform. Unlike many liberal thinkers of his time, Levi also displayed a keen awareness of the legal contradictions created by the act of colonization and the challenges these posed for universal posed for universal and Enlightenment institutions such as law. He clearly believed that colonization was contributing to the perversion of the very concept of the rule of law and the Rechtsstaat. His solution in the case of Mpondo Akwa was to push for the extension of metropolitan law and judicial process to colonial subjects.
MPUNDU AKWA: The Case of the Prince from Cameroon, the Newly Discovered Speech for the Defense by Dr.M. Levi
Von Joeden-Forgey, Elisa & Levi, Dr. M. (Eds.)
Notes, bib, vii, 137pp, GERMANY. LIT VERLAG, 3825873544
Note PPS
Nous tenons tout de suite à signaler que le nom Mpundu a été purement et simplement remplacé par Mpondo qui n´est ni plus ni moins l´écriture correcte du nom de notre Prince MPONDO AKWA
|
|
|
Alexandre DOUALA MANGA BELL
( | 10.08.2007 | 57602 hits | 0 R)
|
Que represente le roi-martyr Duala Manga Bell pour le Peuple Sawa ?
( | 06.08.2007 | 29343 hits | 0 R)
|
Achille MBEMBE démonte le mensonge de Sarkosy sur l´Afrique (suite)
( | 01.08.2007 | 29024 hits | 0 R)
|
Achille MBEMBE démonte le mensonge de Sarkosy sur l’Afrique
( | 01.08.2007 | 30076 hits | 0 R)
|
Portrait: Kaïssa Doumbe Moulongo Sylvie
( | 01.08.2007 | 33715 hits | 0 R)
|
"Appel à la Jeunesse Africaine" par Théophile Obenga
( | 30.07.2007 | 32381 hits | 0 R)
|
EDEA: Menace sur le projet d’extension d’Alucam
( | 18.07.2007 | 22205 hits | 0 R)
|
Franklin Boukaka, le poète assassiné en 1972. Immortel Boukaka: Rumba engagée, Poésie musicale et Panafricanisme
( | 16.07.2007 | 42730 hits | 0 R)
|
Ebenezer KOTTO ESSOME : l’homme et son rêve d’Afrique
( | 16.07.2007 | 40123 hits | 0 R)
|
Portrait: Laurent ESSO
( | 16.07.2007 | 24507 hits | 0 R)
|
Douala: une Exposition de 8 Photographes
( | 15.07.2007 | 21497 hits | 0 R)
|
Nguéa Laroute démarre sa tournée européenne. Videos et Interview
( | 09.07.2007 | 45849 hits | 0 R)
|
La Pagode: Le palais royal transformé en centre d’affaires
( | 09.07.2007 | 27134 hits | 0 R)
|
Juillet 1902. Mpondo Akwa, chef de la délégation du NGONDO au Reich Allemand
( | 07.07.2007 | 31430 hits | 0 R)
|
Ngondo 1991: Remember EKE EBONGUE
( | 03.07.2007 | 31920 hits | 0 R)
|
Grand Sawa : une chaîne d’unité à redorer
( | 03.07.2007 | 28615 hits | 0 R)
|
Um Nyobé: Cet autre hommage à Mpondol
( | 01.07.2007 | 39688 hits | 1 R)
|
Manu Dibango forever...VIDEO
( | 01.07.2007 | 28501 hits | 0 R)
|
Remember Sembene Ousmane - Hommage au grand Africain
( | 28.06.2007 | 33413 hits | 1 R)
|
La France blocque la Réfection des routes à Douala
( | 27.06.2007 | 24257 hits | 0 R)
|
Tout le monde est Bakoko ! par Suzanne KALA LOBE
( | 26.06.2007 | 42664 hits | 1 R)
|
Hommage: Un monument pour Um Nyobe
( | 26.06.2007 | 29464 hits | 0 R)
|
Une inébranlable conviction sur notre destin, par Shanda Tonme
( | 25.06.2007 | 35678 hits | 2 R)
|
Sanaga-Maritime Edéa: L’élite en équipe pour le sport
( | 25.06.2007 | 27438 hits | 0 R)
|
BAKASSI : Découvrez la péninsule - Discover the Peninsula
( | 19.06.2007 | 27532 hits | 0 R)
|
Cinéma : "The making of" du film "Le don involontaire" de Serge Alain Noa
( | 15.06.2007 | 28200 hits | 0 R)
|
Combat: La singulière chronique d’Eyoum’a Ntoh
( | 15.06.2007 | 25986 hits | 0 R)
|
Au Fil du WOURI ... et nous sommes Heureux.
( | 15.06.2007 | 18974 hits | 0 R)
|
Ousmane Sembène, panafricaniste et pionnier du cinéma africain, est mort
( | 11.06.2007 | 31342 hits | 0 R)
|
Kaba Days Are Here; By Poubum Lamy Ney
( | 04.06.2007 | 32883 hits | 0 R)
|
Spectacle : Concert anniversaire d´Universal de Sylvain Nkom
( | 03.06.2007 | 24252 hits | 0 R)
|
Urbanisation : Une stratégie pour étendre Douala en examen
( | 02.06.2007 | 22770 hits | 0 R)
|
ECRANS NOIRS 2007 - Bienvenue au CamerWood
( | 01.06.2007 | 29293 hits | 0 R)
|
ECRANS NOIRS 2007 - Le Festival: Bassek ba Kobhio, Jean Pierre Bekolo, Cyrille Masso
( | 01.06.2007 | 25665 hits | 0 R)
|
L´HORREUR, L´HORREUR : DIX MILLIONS DE MORTS?
( | 31.05.2007 | 30742 hits | 0 R)
|
Portrait: Gottlieb Lobe Monekosso
( | 30.05.2007 | 23680 hits | 0 R)
|
La paranormal n’est pas particulier à l’Afrique
( | 25.05.2007 | 26143 hits | 0 R)
|
SAWANITE : entre le front du refus et la tentation d’adhérer
( | 20.05.2007 | 33333 hits | 2 R)
|
S. E. M. Mbella Mbella, nouvel Ambassadeur du Cameroun à Paris, reçoit les artistes musiciens camerounais
( | 20.05.2007 | 28310 hits | 0 R)
|
Kumba Traditional Council Want GRA Land Refunded. By Olive Ejang Tebug, PostNewsLine.
( | 10.05.2007 | 27036 hits | 0 R)
|
Le Père Engelbert Mveng: Commémoration. Pionnier de l´Egyptologie avec Ngom Gilbert, Dika Akwa, Obenga et C.A. Diop.
( | 08.05.2007 | 53497 hits | 1 R)
|
Douala : Un patrimoine culturel riche, ville d´art et d´histoire
( | 05.05.2007 | 33436 hits | 0 R)
|
Discographie: Le premier cri de Roots Racines Mianga
( | 05.05.2007 | 25457 hits | 0 R)
|
Pourquoi le Cameroun n’a pas décrété un deuil national ?
( | 04.05.2007 | 28208 hits | 1 R)
|
Henri DIKONGUÉ - Missodi Africa Tour 2007
( | 04.05.2007 | 27842 hits | 0 R)
|
Lettre ouverte d’un citoyen du chef-lieu du département de la Sanaga maritime au ministre de la Santé Publique.
Par Mangwe ma Yongui Nikita*
( | 03.05.2007 | 32758 hits | 0 R)
|
Richard Bona parle du Peuple Sawa, Ngondo, Makossa.
( | 02.05.2007 | 35312 hits | 0 R)
|
Cameroun: Drame aérien à Douala. 114 Morts. Pas de Deuil National. Confusion et Médiocrité
( | 01.05.2007 | 42420 hits | 3 R)
|
Association: "Agir ensemble en Sanaga-Maritime" (Agir SM)
( | 01.05.2007 | 29893 hits | 0 R)
|
Toups Bebey est le directeur artistique d’un festival qui se tient au Gabon.
( | 01.05.2007 | 28770 hits | 0 R)
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
