Faction of Bakundu Chiefs rescue Justice Itoe, expel Motase

A group of Bakundu Chiefs acting under the canopy of Chiefs Advisory Committee of the Bakundu Cultural and Development Union, BACDU, have fired the president of Bakundu Chiefs’ Conference, Motase David Ngoh and reversed a sanction he had earlier meted out against Itoe Benjamin, former minister and member of the group.

A vote of no confidence describing Chief Motase of Great Mbakwa Supe as a “power monger” was passed against him (Motase) by some 21 chiefs out of a total of 36 villages that make up the Bakundu clan.

The no-confidence vote was the outcome of a meeting which took place at the palace of Chief Ndome Samuel Mukwelle of Kake II, Bokoko, Wednesday April 15.

Following the meeting, the chiefs clarified that there has never been a day the Chiefs Advisory Committee of BACDU which Motase headed before now, was superior to BACDU.

The chiefs even accused Motase of changing the name of their committee from Chiefs Advisory Committee of BACDU to Bakundu Chiefs’ Conference when he was voted into office in November 2014.

Against this backdrop, the chiefs declared that a memo sanctioning Benjamin Itoe which Motase and some chiefs had signed is null and void.

“Considering the motion of the advisory council, a no confidence vote adopted by us today against his royal highness Chief Motase Ngoh David and dismissing him as the president of the Bakundu chiefs conference, we the undersigned chiefs therefore restructure and vote in a new executive of our chiefs’ conference to pilot the activities of the Bakundu Chiefs Conference,” part of the no confidence vote statement reads.

The chiefs stated categorically that, BACDU Advisory Committee of has no constitution and for over 40years, they have been playing an advisory role to the executive committee and other organs of BACDU. They noted that the Chiefs Advisory Committee is not empowered by the constitution of BACDU to take any final decision on issues concerning the union.

According to the spokesperson of the traditional rulers, Chief Esono Maxwell of Itoki village, at no point in time of the history of BACDU has the executive body of the Chiefs Advisory Committee assumed the function and prerogatives of either deciding or being supreme leader of BACDU as Chief Motase claims.

The chiefs were all agreed that Motase is not very familiar with the functioning of BACDU because he hardly attends BACDU meetings due to the fact that he had some differences with Tata Okia Wa Bakundu of blessed memory.

Seemingly not in accordance with Motase, the members of the Chiefs distanced themselves from the Motase memo, claiming that their signatures were forged. They argued that their signatures were those appended on an attendance sheet for a meeting which was called up by Chief Motase in Kumba.

The chiefs who are rescuing the sacked BACDU President, Benjamin Itoe, disclosed that they consider the fine levied on the “only Bakundu man standing with a torch”, as a manifestation of hatred by Chief Motase David.

Going by the chiefs who hold that Bakundu people are very peaceful and law abiding, they believe that their own memo overrides and cancels that of Motase dismissing the president general and dissolving the entire BACDU executive.

All efforts to get to Hon. Motase at press time to get his side of the story were abortive.