The daughter of the president of Cameroon is seeking to quash the lawsuit summons ostensibly served on her by a singer from that African country, in which the entertainer says the leader’s offspring and a friend defamed the plaintiff on social media by accusing her of dealing drugs and being involved in identity theft and fraud.
Known professionally as Dencia, the performer’s real name is Reprudentia Sonkey. She brought the Van Nuys Superior Court suit against Anastasie Brenda Biya Eyenga, the daughter of Cameroon President Paul Biya, and a friend of Eyenga, Marie Therese Yabit. The complaint also alleges civil harassment and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
On Thursday, Eyenga’s attorneys filed court papers with Judge Shirley Watkins arguing that their client was not properly served when the alleged proof of doing so was left at the Hilton Hotel Yaounde in Cameroon by a bailiff.
“The proof of service should include an affidavit from the bailiff detailing the manner of service, the exact location and the recipient’s acknowledgment of receipt,” Eyenga’s lawyers contend in their pleadings. “No such documentation exists or was provided.”
In addition, no room number or other specific location within the hotel is provided, making it unclear where exactly the service took place, according to Eyenga’s attorneys’ court papers.
The attempted service complied with neither California nor Cameroonian law, Eyenga’s lawyers further state.
A hearing on the defense motion to quash is scheduled for Dec. 5.
Dencia seeks at least $75 million in damages in the suit brought in March 2023, which the Simi Valley resident filed on her own behalf without an attorney.
In addition to being an entertainer, Dencia has created several skin care and clothing brands, set up various businesses and founded the skin care brand Whitenicious by Dencia, of which she was the president and CEO, the suit states.
Her companies flourished due to her reputation as a popular Cameroonian singer and trustworthy entrepreneur in skin care products, the suit states.
In July 2015, Dencia was contacted by Eyenga’s public relations manager, who told the plaintiff that Eyenga, who eventually moved to Beverly Hills, admired her work and wanted her help in producing a photo shoot and in setting up her own brand, the suit states.
“During the years that followed, both (Dencia) and Eyenga maintained a cordial relationship,” the suit states. “They would both make text exchanges on a regularly basis.”
Eyenga returned to Cameroon in 2019 and the two lost contact, the suit states. In June 2021, Dencia was preparing to go to Cameroon the next month in the company of other musicians, including rapper Trey Songz, when a representative for Eyenga allegedly contacted the plaintiff about a birthday engagement and performing at Eyenga’s new hotel.
Eyenga asked Dencia for help getting her Instagram account certified, the suit states. But in a subsequent dispute, Eyenga accused Dencia of creating a fake account and trying to impersonate her, even though the plaintiff explained she was preoccupied with the death of her sister from cancer and could not help Eyenga get her account certified as the plaintiff had hoped, the suit states.
Eyenga, allegedly with Yabit’s help, accused Dencia on social media of identity theft and of being a “scammer” and a “fraudster,” the suit states.
“The news quickly made a media buzz about (Dencia) based on Eyenga’s allegations,” the suit states. “(Dencia’s) reputation was being trampled on by the daughter of the president of the Republic of Cameroon in a totally unjustified way.”
Dencia’s companies suffered losses and the stature she worked hard to establish has been damaged, causing her emotional distress, according to her suit, which further seeks a court order preventing any more allegedly defamatory postings.