Buea chieftaincy saga: Royal family debunks disagreement

Members of the Buea Royal Family, some Notables and Princes,stormed our editorial office on Monday, June 27, fuming about,and cursing media reports that the royal family is in disagreement over the selection of one of theirs to occupy the Buea Paramount Chieftaincy stool, which has been vacant for 11 months now.

They debunked the reports that Kingmakers rejected Prince Robert Esuka Endeley as successor to Chief Justice Samuel Moka Endeley, who joined his ancestors in July last year.

According to Mola Njoh Wose Likenye, one of the four family elders of the Wonya Likenya Royal Family and spokesperson for the Royal Family, the royal familyhad unanimously selected their successor in the person of Prince Robert Esuka Endeley and heads and representatives of the 13 branches that make up the royal family endorsed him.

Njoh Wose Likenye, who was accompanied by Councillor Oscar Isuma Otto Endeley on behalf of the Wonya Likenya Royal Family; Mola Stephen Luma, member and Treasurer of the Traditional Council; Princes and Notables, stated: “The Wonya Likenya family is at ease and in peace and harmony. We chose the successor to the late Nakuve Chief Justice Endeley and we, together with the Notables, are waiting for administrative procedures.”

He said the Traditional Council headed by Dr. Humphrey Ekema Monono has no right to come into Buea paramount chieftaincy issue.

“They are not competent. Chieftaincy succession is the prerogative of the royal family and notables of Buea. Period!”

However, he said, the Traditional Council is expected to play the role of facilitation. He said some people were trying to politicise the issue.

Njoh Wose Likenye said a statement ascribed to him in the mediareports (also carried by The Post) and quoted as saying that, according to Bakweri tradition hereditary is from father-to-son.

“That is wrong! Very wrong!” he fumed, while referring The Post to a memosigned after deliberations appointing and endorsing Prince Robert Esuka Endeley as successor, dated April 10, 2016 titled: “Memorandum by the Wonya Likenye Royal Family on the Succession to the Vacant Throne of His Royal Majesty, the Paramount Chief Of Buea, Accessible to the Indigenous Notable Families of the Buea Paramount Chiefdom and Buea Royal Traditional Council.”

The memo, with him as one of the signatories reads: “It is worth noting that while the succession in Buea Paramount is generally hereditary, the chieftain does not automatically pass from father to son.

For instance, when the Great Kuve Likenye died, he was not succeeded by his son but by his brother, Endeley Likenye (a.k.a Chief Endeley I). Also, Chief Mathias Lifafa Endeley (a.k.a Chief Endeley II) was succeeded by his brother Gervasius Mbella Endeley (a.k.a Chief Endeley III).

Similarly, the successor to Chief Endeley III was his nephew Chief Samuel Moka Lifafa Endeley (a.k.a Chief Endeley IV – Nakuve) So it goes similarly by the WonyaLikenye Royal Family decision that the chosen successor to Nakuve Chief Endeley IV is his nephew Prince Robert Esuka Endeley.”

The memo continues: “It is also important to note that before the death of Chief Gervasius Mbella Endeley III, he wrote in his Will & Testament of 20th August 1976 that he was to be succeeded by his son, Prince Stephen Lifafa Mbella Endeley [see annexture ‘C’] The Will & Testament was objected by the Wonya Likenye Royal Family, reason why Samuel Mokamo’ Lifafa Endeley was endorsed by the Wonya Likenye Royal Family for the throne.

This is also a possible reason why the legal celebrity, Samuel Mokamo’ Lifafa Endeley may not have left a Will & Testament on his succession, reason being that it is purely the surviving Wonya Likenye Royal Family prerogative.”

To bolster their argument, they cited the law of 1977 regulating Chieftaincy in Cameroon which states in Chapter II Article 8 in part: “Traditional Chiefs are, in principle chosen within families customarily called to exercise the required Traditional Command.”

Referring to reports that Buea Chiefs were divided over the candidates for the succession, one of the signatories to the memo, Councillor Prince Oscar Isuma Endeley howled: “Buea Chiefs are not concerned in the succession in the Wonya Likenye Royal Family. Besides, it is a lie! The Chiefs welcomed our choice when they learnt of it.”

Isuma claimed that the Chair of the Traditional Council in his “so called enlarged meeting” invited non-notables and even non-natives and Chiefs from other places to be part of a family discussion. He quoted some of the Buea elite invited; Chief Etina Monono of Great Soppo and retired Commandant Ekema as telling the Traditional Council Chairman that he hadn’t to invite “strangers” to the meeting.

Questioning the raison d’etre of the enlarged Traditional Council meeting and claims that the Royal Family had not named a successor, the Royal Family and notables presented to The Post copies of correspondences between the Traditional Council and the Royal Family.

A letter to the Royal Family dated October 2, 2015, signed by the Chair of the Traditional Council, Sir Humphrey Ekema Monono, titled: “SUCCESSION TO THE VACANCY OF THE ROYAL CHIEFDOM OF BUEA,” states: “The executive of the Royal Traditional Council of the Royal Chiefdom of Buea, meeting on the 16th September 2015 at the Royal Palace of the Royal Chiefdom of Buea, resolved to write to your family on the above issue of succession to the vacancy of the Royal Chiefdom of Buea.

Your response shall help us to start the process of filling the vacancy of the Royal Chiefdom of Buea which is caused by the death of HRH S.M.L Endeley...” It gave November 15, 2015, as latest date for the response.

The Royal Family asserts that after choosing the successor on April 10, 2015, they wrote to the Traditional Council; “In response to your letter addressed to the Wonya Endeley a’ Likenye Families, dated 2nd October 2015, Ref. 003/RTC/RCB/CM/2015 on the SUCCESSION TO THE VACANCY OF THE ROYAL CHIEFDOM OF BUEA,we hereby respectfully inform you and your executive that, by the grace of God Almighty, we have completed the aforementioned assignment and would like to inform you of the outcome and present the related documents at the Mokunda Palace Grounds.

In that regard, we propose either the dates of Saturday 14th May, Saturday 21st May or Saturday 28th May 2016, and will need your confirmation to help us plan accordingly.” The letter is signed by Tata Njoh Wose Likenye, Prince Otto Mbendu Ikome Endeley, Tata John Endeley a’ Njie and Prince Joseph Mwambo Endeley.

According to a document from the archives signed in 1933, there are 25 notable families in the Buea Chiefdom. Another memo dated May 22, 2016 titled: “The Message on the Succession to the Vacant Throne of His Majesty the Paramount Chief of Buea,” which The Post procured, is signed by heads or representatives of the said 25 notable families.

After a historical background of the Buea Paramount Chieftaincy to the recent selection of a successor, it states: “To conclude, we the undersigned heads/representatives of the indigenous notable families are in unanimity, with firm support and request for the statutory administrative actions, leading to formally coronate Prince Robert Mbella Lifafa Endeley on the royal stool as Nambella Lifafa, Paramount Chief Endeley V to begin.”