Inheritance tears family apart

James Esembe Matute, Driver of the then Prime Minister and later Grand Chancellor, Peter Mafany Musonge, was described as a successful polygamist and Patriarch, until his demise on November 15, 2012.

In James Esembe’s 27 years of service to Musonge, from when he was General Manager of the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, he acquired many estates in Buea, Limbe, and Yaounde and a number of cars. But little did he know that these acquisitions were going to tear apart his wives and children, brother and aunt, when he is no more. The deceased left behind two widows; Joan Enyue Moliva whom he espoused on April 8, 1979, and Rose Namondo Mwambo Esembe whom he got married to on April 24, 2006.

Joan Enyue had borne for him six children namely; Felix Lysinge Esembe, Malomba Esembe, Samuel Mbua Esembe, Peter Mafany Esembe, Elna Enanga Esembe, Esembe James Esembe Jr., while Rose Namondo had given him one child; Vanessa Efeti Esembe. He had two other legally recognised children, Martha Mokoko Esembe and Ekomise Nesla Esembe.

James Esembe also left behind his mother, Mama Martha Mojoka Wokama, his brother- Samuel Mbua Matute and a maternal aunt, Mary Lysinge Namondo. The story goes that following the burial of the deceased on December 8, 2013, the second widow, Rose Namondo, told the children of the first widow, Lysinge, Malomba and Mbua that their uncle, Samuel Mbua Matute, who had come for the funeral from the USA where he is resident, collected all their late father’s documents at his residence in Etougebe Yaounde and took them back to the US.

Meantime, the Director of the Human Resources of CDC, employer of the deceased, the Manager of the CDC Bota Head Office Credit Union, had informed James Eseme’s first son, Lysinge, that his father had designated him his next-of-kin. Following the designation, Lysinge applied to the Buea Customary Court for a next-of-kin declaratory judgement which was granted on December 18, 2012.

On December 19, Lysinge applied to the Fako High Court for Letters of Administration listing all properties pertaining to his late father and all beneficiaries including the two widows and all the nine children. But during the publication of the application, the second widow, Rose Namondo, entered a caveat.

The matter was thus enlisted for hearing before the Fako High Court in Suit No. HCF/010/WOS/13. During the hearing of the suit in July 2013, Counsel for the Defendant filed an application wherein she requested that Samuel Mbua Matute (in the US) join as co-defendant. In the affidavit Samuel Matute contended that James Eseme’s house in Mefou-Assi in Yaounde belonged to him and not to the deceased. He presented documents to that claim, witnessed by one Jackson Teke Malange.

Upon perusing the documents, it was discovered that the name of the deceased was wrongly spelt and his signatures were fake.

Lysinge and two of his brothers, Malomba and Mbua, filed a criminal complaint to that effect before the State Counsel of the Magistrate Court Yaounde, against Samuel Matute and Rose Namondo, for fabrication and suppression of evidence, forgery of document, use of false document and illegal retention.

In the meantime, Lysinge reportedly discovered some development going on the estate in Great Soppo, while someone had trespassed on the estate in Na’anga. Upon enquiry, it was found that the development on the estate in Great Soppo was by the co-defendants, while the trespass at Na’anga was committed by one Thomas Nekoli Eko, a father-in-law to Mary Lysinge Namondo, maternal aunt to the deceased’s father.

After inviting and threatening Malomba to remove the palms his late father planted, Mary Lysinge sued him before the Traditional Chief of Na’anga, Fritz Njoh Esaka. She later, however begged for forgiveness.

But when it was proposed that subsequently, the estates in Na’anga would be shared to the deceased nine children and her three children, Mary Lysinge resumed her original position of threats against Malomba, filing petitions in Government offices in Buea that Malomba was using his position as Magistrate to seize her land.

She then acquired a second death certificate for her and James Matute’s father, Apollo Lysinge Molua, with false declaration on the date of his death; meanwhile a death certificate had been obtained earlier in 2010. Owing to this, Malomba filed a criminal complaint against Mary Lysinge on December 11, 2013.

On January 24, 2014, Mary Lysinge filed an application for Letters of Administration before the Fako High Court, but included properties pertaining to James Esembe. She also filed an objection before the Land Registrar of Fako challenging the issuance of land certificate to Lysinge Esembe.

When things came to a head, after accusation and counter-accusations, trading of and insinuations of abuses, with all the criminal charges that led to the detention of Samuel Matute and Rose Namondo, reason however prevailed between the cantankerous parties.

Samuel Mbua Matute and Rose Namondo Mwambo Esembe - on the one hand – and Felix Lysinge Esembe and Malomba Esembe, on the other hand, agreed; “... in the interest of family unity and peace to settle their differences out-of-court .”

An agreement was reached wherein; the 1st child and next-of-kin of the Late James Esembe shall be the Administrator of his estates. All the personal documents of the late James Esembe in the Keeping of Rose Namondo and Samuel Matute were to be handed to the Administrator. All suits pending before the various courts were discontinued and the properties fairly shared to the wives, all the nine children and the mother of the deceased also had her own due.

“The first widow of the deceased, Mrs. Joan Enyue Moliva Esembe shall retain the house in Na’anga for herself and her minor children and the two children her husband begot out of wedlock who are under her care” while “The second widow of the deceased, Mrs. Rose Namondo Mwambo Eseme shall retain the house at Mefou-Assi, Mbankomo,” partly states the agreement.

“When land certificates for the farms in Na’anga shall be issued, the farm land shall be carved out into plots and every child of the deceased shall have a parcel of land.

This repartition will be done formally at the level of the local surveys department and from the master land certificate, separate certificates shall be issued to each child in his/her name. The certificates for the minor children shall be kept by the administrator who shall hand it over to each concerned person on the age of maturity – 21 years,” it further states.

The agreement has been signed by all the parties, witnessed and signed by Lucas Nyalale Molinga, Simon Molombe Lyonga, and Brenda NchangMunda. But after this amicable settlement, tongues are still wagging as if the owners of such tongues were the devil’s advocates wanting the squabbles to continue within the family for them to pick the spoils.