Akere Muna

In 1997, Akere Muna ran for president of the Cameroon Bar Association and won in a landslide. In that election, Akere formed a coalition (the Rainbow Coalition) for membership of the Bar Council that represented all the regions of Cameroon. All subsequent presidents of the Cameroon Bar Association have come from that initial Rainbow Coalition. This has led some to criticize that Akere Muna’s efforts led to the creation of an elitist group with excessive influence in the bar election process.

In 2000, Akere Muna founded the Cameroon chapter of the anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International. In the two previous years, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) had listed Cameroon as the most corrupt of the countries surveyed.[3][4] Many therefore thought it was risky for Akere Muna to head an organization that challenged the status quo. The Cameroon government strongly challenged TI’s assessment, and even considered suing TI. Muna, Muna & Associates lost many clients during this period, as many of those clients wanted to avoid the government’s ire as a result of any association with the firm. Eventually, the government formed an ad hoc committee, presided over by the Prime Minister, to combat corruption.[5] Akere Muna, was a member of that committee, in his capacity as president of the Cameroon Bar.

In 2004, Akere Muna was elected to the Board of Directors of TI. That same year, the African Chapters of TI designated him as Coordinator of the Coalition of African Chapters of TI.[6] As Coordinator, he was involved in the TI working group that helped draft the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and authored a guide to the convention.[7]

In 2005, he was elected Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of TI,[8] for a three-year term. He subsequently was reelected twice to that position, and stepped down in 2014, after serving the maximum number of terms.

As Akere Muna’s mandate as Vice Chair of Transparency International came to an end in 2014, the Board of Directors of TI appointed him Chair of the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) Council. The IACC is a forum that brings together civil society, heads of state and the private sector to tackle challenges posed by corruption.[9] The IACC takes place every two years in a different region of the world, and attracts up to 1500 participants from over 135 countries.[10] Akere Muna was appointed for a six-year term.

Akere Muna was a founding member of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), the umbrella association of African lawyers and lawyers’ associations, tasked with working towards the development of the law and legal profession, the rule of law, human rights and socio-economic development of the African continent, as well as promoting African regional integration.[11] In July 2005, Akere Muna was unanimously elected president of PALU by the heads of the various African bar associations.[12] As president, he launched a program, funded by African Development Bank, to train African lawyers in sophisticated commercial transactions in all the five regions of Africa. He served as president from 2005 to 2014.

In 2005, The Pan African Lawyers Union became a member of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union (AU), an advisory body created to promote civil society involvement within the AU institutions and decision-making processes. In September 2008, Akere Muna was unanimously elected president of ECOSOCC, replacing Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai of Kenya. He was installed by President Kikwete of Tanzania, the then-President of the African Union.[13] He held this position until 2014.

In 2010, Akere Muna became a member of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons. The Panel exercises oversight of the African Peer Review Mechanism process, which is aimed at encouraging conformity among African countries in regard to their political, economic and corporate governance values.[14] The Panel also oversees the selection of the APR Teams and appoints them to conduct country reviews.[14] Akere Muna served as a member until 2013, when the Panel members elected him Chairperson.[15] He was panel team leader for the assessment of Sierra Leone and Tanzania. He presented the reports for both countries, as well as the report for Ethiopia, to the APRM forum of heads of states. Akere Muna served as chairperson until 2014. His tenure ended controversially, with his release of scathing report on the APRM Secretariat and the internal governance of the APRM process.[16] The report strongly criticized the Panel’s failure to adhere to its own governance mechanisms, despite promulgating good governance among the signatory member states to the APRM.

In 2012, Akere became a member of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, a body established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and chaired by former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki.[17] The Panel presented its report on illicit flows from Africa to the AU Summit of African Heads of States and governments in January 2015.[18]

On February 11, 2013, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved the appointment of Akere Muna as Sanctions Commissioner of the African Development Bank.[19] As Sanctions Commissioner, he may impose penalties against parties for proven commission of sanctionable practices in projects administered, financed or supported by the African Development Bank.

In 1999, Akere Muna was briefed by the Abacha family to be counsel for Mohammad Abacha, the son of the former president of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha. Mohammad Abacha was charged with the murder of Kudirat Abiola, the wife of M.K.O Abiola, a popular Nigerian businessman and politician. Akere Muna’s representation did not relate to other allegations against Mohammad Abacha, involving charges of money laundering during Abacha’s father’s military rule. Due to the cloud of mistrust which loomed over the Abacha family in light of accusations of corruption, Akere Muna’s representation appeared to conflict with his role as then-President of the Cameroon Chapter of Transparency International. Akere Muna ultimately withdrew from the case.[20] In 2002, Abacha was acquitted and released by President Olusegun Obasanjo, after an agreement was reached between the government and the Abacha family that they would hand over the balance of funds embezzled during his father’s rule.[21]

Critics of the Biya regime have questioned Akere Muna’s representation of the Cameroon government and several parastatal institutions in litigation both within Cameroon and abroad. They point to a disconnect between his role in promoting good governance and combatting corruption across the globe, with his defense of a regime that has been riddled with accusations of corruption and undemocratic practices.