Presidency intervenes in Bakundu crisis

The Presidency of the Republic has ordered for time bound investigations to end the crisis pitting the Bakundu Chiefs Conference and the Bakundu Cultural and Development Union, BACDU, The Post has learnt.

The instructions were reportedly dished out in the course of last week following the new twist in the crisis spearheaded by two Bakundu elites, Chief David Motase Ngoh and former Minister, Benjamin Mutanga Itoe.

Dependable sources within the Chiefs confab said, instructions from hierarchy are to the effect that, the local administration of Meme Division must do all it takes to restore calm and order among the custodians of tradition and BACDU.

SDO Summons Chiefs

As the conflict deepens, the Second Assistant Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme, Nelson Yongkhuma Gamsi, on the instructions of his boss, David Koulbout Aman, has summoned all the 31 Bakundu Chiefs for a meeting on Thursday, May 30, 2015, regarding the issue.

The communiqué dated April 24, 2015, with reference No G39/C.169/vol. II/07, states that “cognizant of the recent unacceptable division among the Chiefs of Bakundu clan which imposes urgent intervention, in view of putting a definite end to the whole saga, the SDO for Meme has the honour to summon the following Chiefs in the list here attached in his office on Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 11:00 am prompt.”

Page two of the same communiqué carries a list of the names of all 31 active Bakundu Chiefs with their corresponding phone numbers. Fifteen of the Chiefdoms are found in Mbonge, 13 in Konye and two in Kumba I Subdivision.

Mbakwa Supe GA Takes Place Unperturbed

Speaking on the sidelines of the Bakundu Chiefs confab in Mbakwa Supe on Saturday, April 25, another Chief who requested for anonymity explained that, the instructions from the Presidency demand that, all the Divisional Officers, forces of law and order and security services all put hands on deck to lay the crisis to rest on April 30.

Motase Awaits Verdict

Quizzed on the recent turn of events, Hon Motase who convened the GA as the Chiefs’ President told The Post that, it is time the Chiefs keep quiet and wait on the administration to handle the crisis since a summons has been issued.

Origin Of Crisis

The clash of the Chiefs and BACDU came to the public space on April 10, 2015, when the President of the Bakundu Chiefs Conference, Chief Motase announced the purported sacking of Benjamin Itoe as BACDU President, suspended the Constitution and placed the organ under the control of the Chiefs.

Motase had, during the briefing presented a roll call to the media showing that, 22 of the 31 Chiefs were in support of his press outing.

On Wednesday, April 15, 2015, a group of five Chiefs sat at the palace of Kake Bokoko and equally announced the sacking of Motase as Chief Conference President, replacing him with Chief Andreas Muango.

The organisers of the Bakoko gathering had challenged the attendance sheet used by Motase, but failed to show their own roll call to reporters.

The last joker in the tribal conflict was the April 25, 2015 Supe conclave of Chiefs convened by Motase. The meeting finally took place on the agreed date and venue and observers are awaiting the outcome of the April 30 meeting.