Street protest over land dispute halted

The over 80 years long-standing land dispute between Nsongwa and Mankon, two communities in Mezam division of the NW is far from being over as the people of Nsongwa on Jan. 22 took to the streets protesting what they say is administrative partiality in handling the dispute.

They barricaded mile 90 road junction, carried placards blaming the administration for giving a deaf ear to the continuous violation of administrative injunctions by Mankon indigenes on the disputed piece of land, accusing them of constructing over 40 houses in the area.

According to the angry villagers, descending to the street was the only way they could make their voices heard after several peaceful attempts at solving the problem had flopped.

“We wanted the governor to address us and tell us whether there is a problem between him and his collaborators, whether there is a problem between him and the judiciary of the region because we don’t understand why the 1954 ministerial decree and the 2010 sub prefectorial decision banning all forms of development in the area are not being respected.” Said Ignatius Amabo, Nsongwa indigene.

Peter Itoe, D.O for Bamenda II who visited the protest scene accompanied by police and gendarmes visited parts of the disputed area in the presence of hundreds of villagers before asking the Nsongwa people to send four representatives for a meeting later that day at the SDO’s office.

The gendarmes arrested a group of boys with knives and clubs in the disputed area, while the D.O was shown a compound clearly marked Quarter Head Nkrukah Mankon, under the Mankon traditional council authority.

According to the people of Nsongwa, the disputed piece of land also includes CENAJES Bamenda new campus. The conflict is said to have started as far back as 1934 and in 1954, the then Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Ayisi Mvondo signed an order approved by the then Head of State demarcating the boundary between the two communities.

In 2010, due to continuous conflict between the two communities, the then D.O for Bamenda II placed an injunction on any form of construction on the disputed piece of land. Nsongwa people say they have paid over CFA 1.9M for a survey of the land to be carried out and pillars planted for the piece of land to be shared equally between the two communities but that has never been done.

Today, they are claiming there are over 40 houses built by Mankon people on the disputed land known as Nkrukah in disregard of the administration. By press time the outcome of the meeting of both groups with the administration was still being awaited.