|
|
| 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
|
|
|
International Women´s Day 2011 (Sister Nyangon is honoured)
( | 11.03.2011 | 17017 hits | 0 R)
|
Race and Arab Nationalism in Libya by Glen Ford
( | 11.03.2011 | 16087 hits | 0 R)
|
Henriette Ekwè (Nyangon) primée aux Etats-Unis
( | 02.03.2011 | 16410 hits | 0 R)
|
Livre: COMMENT L´AFRIQUE EN EST ARRIVEE LA, par Axelle Kabou
( | 26.02.2011 | 15175 hits | 0 R)
|
Côte d´Ivoire - Le Panel de l´Union africaine propose de revenir aux Accords jamais respectés de Ouagadougou
( | 24.02.2011 | 15515 hits | 0 R)
|
Regards: La Grammaire de la Révolte
( | 14.02.2011 | 17391 hits | 0 R)
|
MISS NGONDO 2010: Ekambi Lobe
( | 12.02.2011 | 20944 hits | 0 R)
|
FOMARIC 2011: Hommage à Nkotti François
( | 09.02.2011 | 17648 hits | 0 R)
|
SCHISME DE 1814, MYTHE OU REALITE
( | 01.02.2011 | 18139 hits | 1 R)
|
CES ROIS DES BERGES DU WOURI
( | 01.02.2011 | 18271 hits | 1 R)
|
Who loves to hate Haiti? An interview with Haitian Activist Pierre Labossiere
( | 28.01.2011 | 16279 hits | 0 R)
|
COTE D´IVOIRE : L´EX REBELLE AB ACCUSE ! OUATTARA, SORO DANS LE COLLIMATEUR !
( | 13.01.2011 | 19318 hits | 2 R)
|
Kamerun: Une guerre cachée aux origines de la Françafrique (1948-1971)
( | 11.01.2011 | 17760 hits | 0 R)
|
L´imposture des Nations unies en Haïti et en Côte d´Ivoire
( | 09.01.2011 | 18411 hits | 1 R)
|
Et de quatre pour Samuel Eto’o Fils
( | 21.12.2010 | 16641 hits | 0 R)
|
Regards (sur la crise ivoirienne): En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages...
( | 21.12.2010 | 15195 hits | 0 R)
|
Cote d´Ivoire: Face à l´impérialisme, l´avenir de l´Afrique se joue à Abidjan
( | 10.12.2010 | 15731 hits | 0 R)
|
Situation en Côte d´Ivoire: Déclaration et Appel du Bureau du Comité Directeur de l’UPC
( | 08.12.2010 | 20380 hits | 1 R)
|
Afrique, Colonisation: Invasion programmée de la Côte-d´Ivoire, par Aimé M. Moussy
( | 07.12.2010 | 14588 hits | 0 R)
|
Race as Biology is Fiction, Racism as a Social Problem is Real
( | 05.12.2010 | 13660 hits | 0 R)
|
Lettre ouverte au FESMAN III - par Rhode Bath-Schéba Makoumbou
( | 04.12.2010 | 19041 hits | 0 R)
|
Que sont devenues les anciennes Miss Ngondo ?
( | 04.12.2010 | 21346 hits | 0 R)
|
Le Ngondo, les sawa, l’Indépendance et la Réunification
( | 01.12.2010 | 19535 hits | 0 R)
|
PETIT-PAYS victime d’un coup monté. Un mandat d’arrêt contre Petit-Pays
( | 01.12.2010 | 18783 hits | 0 R)
|
L´HISTOIRE DU KABA -NGONDO
( | 01.12.2010 | 17888 hits | 0 R)
|
Le cinéaste Dikonguè Pipa - Les héros nationalistes honorés
( | 23.11.2010 | 14903 hits | 0 R)
|
Ngondo 2010: Foire, animations et gastronomie
( | 22.11.2010 | 21382 hits | 0 R)
|
la troisième édition du Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres
( | 04.11.2010 | 14347 hits | 0 R)
|
ACHILLE MBEMBE: POUR L´ABOLITION DES FRONTIÈRES HÉRITÉES DE LA COLONISATION
( | 03.11.2010 | 16540 hits | 0 R)
|
Gregory Isaacs, Jamaican reggae artist, dies at age 59
( | 30.10.2010 | 17700 hits | 1 R)
|
Calliste Ebenye: Le restaurant Sawa Village devient Mboa´su
( | 21.10.2010 | 17879 hits | 0 R)
|
Manu Dibango - Jean Serge Essous, qui était le maître ?
( | 15.10.2010 | 16466 hits | 0 R)
|
Thomas Eyoum ´a Ntoh: La longue agonie d´un chevalier de la plume
( | 16.09.2010 | 16416 hits | 0 R)
|
Charles Onana: L’Afrique centrale pourrait connaître le scénario rwandais
( | 16.09.2010 | 15218 hits | 0 R)
|
Hommage à Um Nyobé, 52 ans après !
( | 14.09.2010 | 17441 hits | 1 R)
|
Les migraines de la diaspora !
( | 28.08.2010 | 16782 hits | 2 R)
|
L’ultime Reconnaissance - Hommage à nos Hommes d´exception! Merci Pius NDJAWE
( | 06.08.2010 | 13869 hits | 0 R)
|
Décès jeudi de Jean Bikoko, l’un des doyens de la musique camerounaise
( | 22.07.2010 | 18337 hits | 0 R)
|
Le diagnostic d’un échec
( | 18.07.2010 | 13453 hits | 0 R)
|
Au-delà de la débâcle des Lions indomptables au Mondial 2010
( | 25.06.2010 | 17595 hits | 1 R)
|
La Halte du Cinquantenaire ! Par Charles MOUKOURI DINA MANGA BELL
( | 01.06.2010 | 15925 hits | 0 R)
|
Kessern aus Kamerun: Die Biografie eines schwarzen Crailsheimers (1896 - 1981)
( | 22.05.2010 | 21064 hits | 1 R)
|
L´indépendance, il y a 50 ans ! L´indépendance, depuis 50 ans ?
( | 17.05.2010 | 16919 hits | 0 R)
|
Indépendance, la désullision?
( | 27.04.2010 | 14036 hits | 0 R)
|
Cinquante ans de décolonisation africaine
( | 18.03.2010 | 16711 hits | 0 R)
|
Les circonstances de l`assassinat de UM Nyobe, par Louis Noé Mbengan
( | 18.03.2010 | 16280 hits | 0 R)
|
Chefferies traditionnelles du Littoral
( | 04.03.2010 | 25344 hits | 0 R)
|
Peuplesawa rencontre Miss EBENYE BONNY
( | 19.02.2010 | 18145 hits | 0 R)
|
Grand Sawa: Le retour aux démons du «qui perd gagne» dans les Chefferies de la région du Littoral
( | 18.02.2010 | 21638 hits | 2 R)
|
LE PEULE DUALA
( | 15.02.2010 | 27216 hits | 0 R)
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
