Dzekashu MacViban
From the publication of This is Bonamoussadi to his recent work The Meaning of Fame, Oscar Chenyi Labang has proven that he is an irrepressible oasis of creativity. The Trial of Bate Besong (2009) is a modernist play in which the ghost of Bate Besong – an iconoclastic writer who died in a car accident – represented by Voice, is on trial.
Bate Besong, an award-winning playwright and poet, was also a moral crusader who spoke out against Cameroon's socio-political ills. A university lecturer and orator, Besong's place in the public arena was immense. In blending of genres—poetry and prose—in his play, Labang reveals a modernist consciousness in his attempt to recast Besong as a defendant.
The Voice (BB) is accused of planting revolutionary ideas in the minds of the young, writing works that are insolent to the authorities, and injuring the reputation of a national and well revered hero. The cases in question include: The People vs Bate Besong and The state vs Bate Besong and the charges are as follows:
Count 1
That you BB some time ago in the year at the Mountain City within the Kama South Judicial Division committed contempt against the public administration (state) and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 154(b) Penal Code.
Count 2
That you BB at the same time and place instigated the President of Writers to issue a statement on a non-literary event to wit, the collapse of the bridge linking Kama and Ngola and that on his refusal you seceded from the company of other writers and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under sections 166(a) of the penal Code.
Count 3
That you BB at another time and place injured the reputation of one national and well revered hero from Kama North Region by imputation of facts which you are unable to prove to wit, that he was a failure because he did not write rebelliously in your manner, thereby poisoning young republican minds and insulting national figures, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under some sections 305(I) of the Penal Code.
Count 4
That in the same time and place injured the honour of a state authority (Her Majesty of Besaadi) by imputation of facts which you are unable to prove to wit, that she owes you an undefined debt for causing her to be transferred to her present post which after investigation showed that she was not happy with your statement and thereby committed an offence that is contrary to and punishable under sections 305(i) of the Penal Code.
Count 5
That you BB at the same place and time committed contempt against the public administration to wit, writing works that are insolent to the authorities of this nation; violent in their stylistics mannerisms and instigative to young citizens and the masses for revolutionary action and thereby committed an offence that is contrary to and punishable under sections 153(I) as read with section 154(a) and section 116 (C) of the Penal Code.
Count 6
That you Bate Besong at another time and place abetted the commission of insurrection that is by conniving with your friend Babala’a in the School of Teachers in Wende to ignite a revolution by planting revolutionary ideas in the minds of young and innocent teachers, and so he gave you the opportunity to give a fiery lecture in the guise of “Introduction and Development of African literature” and thereby committed an act that is contrary to and punishable under section 116(I) as read with section 97(a) of the Penal Code.
The Voice on its part wittily questions the authority of the court, questions the status quo, shows the ignorance of the prosecution and gives an insightful speech on literature and politics. The Voice further says “The writer is a prophet of the gods and the only thing that he hungers for especially in a society like ours is the truth.”
The Trial of Bate Besong is a surrealistic play which unfolds in the fictional Republic of Kamangola ( an inter-textual reference to Nkengasong’s Across the Mongolo which takes place in that same setting ). In addition, the play is full of historical, political, religious, literary and philosophical allusions and Labang's The Voice impressively recaptures the fearlessness, intelligence, wit and above all, Besong's passion for socio-cultural and economic justice in Cameroon.
The Trial of Bate Besong is a humorous play which poses questions about the role of the writer, the politics of literature, as well as the authenticity of bourgeoisie literature. In a way, Labang's play brings to mind Ali A. Mazrui's The Trial of Christopher Okigbo published after the iconic Nigerian poet's death on the front-lines of the Biafra war. Both plays, Mazrui's and Labang's, attempt to explore a fundamental aspect of African philosophy,the coexistence between the world of the living and that of the dead.
The Trial of Bate Besong
Oscar Chenyi Labang
Miraclaire Inc. Publishing
Yaounde, 2009
66 pages
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