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21.03.2014 Feature Article

Mbororo Demobilize Caterpillar Attempting To Demolish Their Houses

Mbororo Demobilize Caterpillar Attempting To Demolish Their Houses
21.03.2014 LISTEN

The caterpillar hired by the archbishop of Bamenda to destroy Mbororo houses in Wumse-Ndzah, Bamenda III subdivision, North West region of Cameroon was demobilized by a combined population of irate Bambili and Mbororo people at 11 A.M on 19 March 2014.

A warning was given for the caterpillar not to branch from the main road unto the road leading to the Mbororo land. This warning was ignored as Cosmas Jobain in charge of landed property and micro projects at the Bishop's house urged them on.

Mbororo women excelled at throwing stones at the operator of the demolition machine while Bambili men used catapults. Mbororo men wielding sticks attacked the Bandzah men who had accompanied the caterpillar as the abandoned the machine and escaped into the valleys.

Running battles with sticks and stones lasted over an hour leaving people with head wounds and various levels of laceration. The caterpillar was virtually stripped of its main cables. Windshields of a pickup truck used by Cosmas Jobain belonging to the Catholic Technical Services of the Bamenda Archdiocese were shattered.

Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua representing the Catholic University of Cameroon, CATUC, claims he had been granted a temporal land concession for the construction of a FCFA 55 billion university complex. Minister Jean Baptiste Baleoken of Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Lands granted temporal land concession in Arreté No 0009447/K.6.1/MINDAF/D1/D13 of 2 September 2011 in error. It is these errors committed out of interest and bias that the Administrative Court of the North West Region is about to correct.

The Mbororo challenged the allocation of the land to the Catholics claiming they had occupied it since 1904. They have also been grazing and growing various crops on the land. The vegetables from the land are found on Cameroon markets as far as Yaounde and Douala. The Mbororo land of Wumse-Ndzah is in category one as it is occupied and developed.

The occupancy of Mamada Hills was recognized by Ordinance No 49 of 1933, as settled by D.C.E Tovey Esq, D.O. of Bamenda Division to settle the boundaries between Elachu (former name of Bandzah people also called Baforchu II); Mokwene (former name of Nkwen); Mbeli (Bambili) and Bamendankwe.

His dis-Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua said they went for a land concession because they did not have money to buy land. Yet they could have spent less than 10 percent of the 55 billion they showed government to purchase unencumbered land.

Rights activists and environmentalists are stating that the land deal completely ignores the rights of the Mbororo to life and property. For the Archbishop to be seeing people and houses on Mamada estates and claiming emphatically that it was empty land with nobody, borders on ethnic targeting and genocide.

On seeing the human rights activist from CORPIC (civil society organization out to restore patriotism and integrity in Cameroon), campaigning to stop the CATUC from grabbing the Mbororo land, Cosmas Jobain exclaimed,

“Achobang, what have you come here to do? We shall see today.” Cosmas Jobain grabbed a stone and flung it gravely wounding Achobang on the head. Achobang was given four stitches on the scalp after a deep laceration.

Mbororo women reacted and fell on Cosmas Jobain with stones and clubs. He was only rescued through the intervention of some cameramen who had been attracted to the scene to document it.

Counsels for the Mbororo petitioned the Court of First Instance Bamenda (CFIBA) in Suit No CFIBA/15CM/2013 praying the CFIBA to restrain the CATUC represented by His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua from destroying the buildings and farms belonging to the Mbororo community.

Mezam Divisional administration represented by its Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) Felix Nguele Nguele who described the tensions as a private matter, which did not threaten peace and public order is presently overseeing the arrest and detention of suspects.

Abdul Karimu Shehu of Mbororo Social Cultural and Development Association (MOSCUDA), who was not present during the skirmishes, brought in the police later to assess the destruction. He was arrested by the Judicial Police Bamenda and detained yesterday 20 March 2014. He is charged for assault and destruction.

CATUC represented by His dis-Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua should have respected the Stay of Execution from the Administrative Court asking the Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda to stay its action until the august court had ruled.

How can a personality who does not respect the courts and laws of the land file a complaint in the same courts against people who only tried to stop them from violating the laws in force? Achobang, Secretary General of Commission for the Restoration of Patriotism and Integrity in Cameroon (CORPIC), who was equally summoned on the phone to go to the Judicial Police, said he would not respond to a summons initiated by a recalcitrant personality like the Archbishop.

The Archbishop had disobeyed the Court of First Instance Bamenda by absenting itself from the hearings of a matter of trespass it had brought to court against the Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada, third class chieftain of the Mbororo of Wumse-Ndzah.

The archbishop also refused appearing in court in Suit No CFIBA /15CM/2013 to restrain the CATUC from destroying Mbororo houses and farms. He also did not attend the locus visit which determined that the Mbororo land was occupied and exploited for many decades, and could therefore not be alienated, attached, prescribed or expropriated for any project. Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua also avoided hearing judgment No CFIBA/15CM/13 of 31 July 2013 in which Magistrate Achu Francis referred the matter to the Administrative Court of the North West Region for a ruling.

The Administrative Court issued a Stay of Action to the Archbishop on 10 March 2014. It is total disrespect and contempt of the highest court of the region for the Archbishop to have sent a caterpillar to Wumse-Ndzah to destroy Mbororo houses and farms on 18 March 2014. The CATUC and its representative should assume full responsibility for all disturbances occurring in Wumse-Ndzah.

After all these disturbances meetings are reportedly still held in the offices of the corrupt officials who had taken money from the archbishop. A source in the office of the Divisional Officer of Bamenda III said the office was planning to take caterpillars to destroy the houses in the days ahead.

Mbororo promised to save their land with their blood and would invite Boko Haram to come and help them fight the Catholics in Cameroon.

Fon Christopher Achobang
Social Commentator, Human rights activist
Mbengwi County
The Cameroons
Tel, (237) 74211066
99365954
(237) 33160489

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