NKELENG MATTER: STATE OF PLAY

On July 2, 2021, we were invited by HRH Jean Raymond TAKOUKAM, King of the Bameka, to attend the field visit of the National Commission for the Settlement of Disputes Relating to the Boundaries of Administrative Districts and Traditional Command Units, scheduled for July 6, 2021.

Responding promptly to this request, we immediately began collecting information and any other documents that might shed light on the matter.

Arriving in Bameka on July 5, 2021, we held a preliminary working session at the Palace that same day. It was during this working session that His Majesty entrusted us with the heavy responsibility of defending the interests of our Village in the border conflict with the Bamougoum Village.

From all the documentation consulted and the testimonies collected, it emerges what is delivered to you in the following lines, focused around the single point which consists of the presentation of the state of play.

The border dispute between Bamougoum and Bameka predates the Second World War. In 1924, the Bamougoum people accused the Bameka people of having murdered one of their own on the disputed land. As proof, they brandished the severed arm of a man who had died a natural death, attributing it to that of a supposed victim of aggression by the populations living in the conflict zone. The Bameka people proclaimed their innocence in vain. Prosecuted before the judicial authorities of the time, the Chief of the Bameka, His Majesty Takoukam, pleaded not guilty, but without success. The sentence was harsh: seven (07) years of deportation and he was sent to Campo, then to Yaoundé.

Forced to leave his people, but serene and convinced of his people's innocence, the King of the Bameka firmly and confidently told them this famous, symbolically charged phrase:

"Even if I were to die, do not abandon our land of N'sang."

During the seven years of the Bameka King's deportation, administrative and judicial authorities recorded numerous denunciations and other confessions concerning the innocence of the Bameka people and, consequently, of their King.

These authorities continued their investigations but without much success. In 1928, the truth finally triumphed: the supposedly deceased man, whose arm had been presented as proof of the murderous barbarity of the Bameka people, presented himself to the authorities and revealed that he had been forced into confinement and muzzled for all those years in order to establish their conviction against the Bameka people and their King.

With this truth restored, His Majesty TAKOUKAM returned triumphantly to Bameka that same year (1928).

All the other Kings of the Bafoussam Subdivision (currently Mifi Division, under which BAMEKA also fell), informed of the plot which led to their peer's deportation, agreed to recognize Bameka King's inalienable right to the lands subject of the border conflict.

Administratively, the authorities are continuing to seek a definitive solution to this matter, which could disrupt public order.

It was with this in mind that, by Decision No. 210/DR/RBK of October 4, 1955, the colonial authority at the time, Mr. Delauney, Chief Administrator of Overseas France and Head of the Bamiléké Region, established an ad hoc commission to demarcate the Bameka and Bamougoum chiefdoms. This commission concluded its work with a report drawn up on February 22, 1956.

Based on the findings and conclusions of the ad hoc commission's report of February 22, 1956, Mr. Delauney issued Decision No. 102/DR/RBK dated April 13, 1957, establishing the new boundaries between the villages of Bameka and Bamougoum.

This decision thus put an end to more than 40 years of border conflict between the two neighboring villages; it had the advantage of indicating the boundary markers that still exist.

Moreover, it specified that a sketch was attached, and that the boundary was indicated by a line consisting of cross marks. In its article 2, this decision indicated that the Head of the Bafoussam Subdivision (current Mifi Division) under which the two Villages fell was responsible for placing markers every 500 meters on the above-mentioned limit.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned decision, although final (no party having contested it), was considerably delayed in its implementation.

This can undoubtedly be explained by multiple reasons:

The year 1957 fell in the midst of a turbulent period that the Bamileke Region had been experiencing since 1955, with what was dubbed the "war of decolonization."

In the wake of Cameroon's independence on January 1, 1960, the primary concerns focused on achieving national unity and the country's economic, social, and cultural development. This required a comprehensive strategy, and the efforts of all citizens mobilized around its leaders.

In 1961, the Federal Republic of Cameroon was born, and the issue of establishing federal institutions was a major concern for the authorities; without forgetting the still worrying security situation in the Western Region which would not see a lull until 1971, which favored the resumption of normal life.

Thus, in February 1972, the Bameka people, through their King, contacted the competent authority, the Chief of the Bafoussam Subdivision (now Mifi Division), to request the enforcement of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957.

The first action took place during the same month of February 1972. The competent authorities undertook a site visit, the next step being the actual installation of the markers.

On May 20, 1972, the Unitary State of Cameroon came into being with the establishment of new institutions; all of which was likely to cause further delays in implementation.

It should be recalled that during all these years of waiting (since 1957), the people of Bamougoum, in an expansionist spirit, gradually occupied the areas belonging to Bameka, in defiance of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK, which was maliciously ignored.

This anarchic occupation seemed to give them the illusion that they could use their development to obtain a modification of the final boundaries set in 1957.

On October 16, 1975, members of the commission responsible for establishing the boundary markers on the limits defined by the decision of April 13, 1957, returned

to the site. Among them was a Member of Parliament, Honorable TAMEZA FOGUE Christian. During the working session of this commission, this Member of Parliament was surprised by the positions taken by the Subdivisional Officer of Bafoussam at the time, who literally deviated from the boundary markers contained in decision No. 102/DR/RBK; not without requiring the members of the commission to take into consideration the new developments of the Bamougoum, in order to redraw a new line. Offended, MP TAMEZA contacted the Governor of the West Province in a letter dated October 28, 1975, denouncing the Subdivisional Officer’s attitude and requesting that the work be resumed by another commission chaired by a neutral figure (other than one of the two administrative authorities having authorities over the villages concerned).

By letter dated February 23, 1976, HRH TAMBO Felix, King of Bameka, contacted the Divisional Officer for MIFI Division to denounce the repeated acts of violations by the Bamougoum population in the area belonging to Bameka, while expressing the wish that a new delimitation commission be established.

In response to the request of the Honorable Tameza and at the request of His Majesty Tambo Felix, an ad hoc committee was established by the Governor of the West Province.

After several useful meetings, the ad hoc committee held its final meeting on April 21, 1977, with the participation of Their Majesties Tambo Felix of Bameka, Fotso Kankeu of Bamougoum, Sokoudjou Jean Rameaux of Bamendjou, as well as notables Oumbe Tafok, Deffo Kamte, and Deffo Buko. The work of this commission was sanctioned by Minutes No. 44/ABD/SA of April 26, 1977. It clearly showed that all stakeholders agreed to establish the boundary markers, respecting the benchmarks indicated in Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957.

After this first formal act of commencing the implementation of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957, various acts of provocation and aggression resumed in the disputed area, resulting in a very long truce in the process already underway.

In the meantime, several Kings ruled Bameka Village, and the situation remained worrying in the conflict zone.

In 2005, His Majesty Jean Raymond Takoukam ascended the throne; the completion of the implementation of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957, initiated in 1977, was still awaited.

In 2011, new bloody clashes between the two communities were recorded in the conflict zone; the toll included loss of life, massive destruction, and kidnappings, among other things. The administrative authority and the two Kings conducted a raid on the site of the incident. The King of Bameka was hopeful that this time, things would move a little. Unfortunately, nothing concrete happened. On September 15, 2014, HRH Jean Raymond TAKOUKAM, King of Bameka, submitted a request to the Governor of the West Region to demarcate the boundary between Bameka and Bamougoum in accordance with Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957, supported by Minutes No. 44/ADB/SA of April 26, 1977.

By correspondence dated September 25, 2015, the Governor of the West Region invited the King of Bameka to meet at the Keleng site on September 28, 2015.

HRH Jean Raymond TAKOUKAM spontaneously responded to this invitation; he firmly believed that the Governor's invitation followed his request of September 15, 2014.

While there, he discovered that it was the Secretary General of the Region who had to chair the meeting.

Taking the floor, HRH Jean Raymond TAKOUKAM attempted to provide a historical overview and then stated that he and his people were still awaiting the implementation of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957.

To his greatest surprise, he found the Secretary General of the Region violently attacking him and implying to the audience that Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957, was a colonial act of no value to him. He had thus taken up the cause of the Bamougoum Village, forgetting that Cameroon, in its current name and form, is a colonial legacy, just like the acts that allowed the State of Cameroon to recover the Bakassi Peninsula!!!

It should be noted that in 1993, the Bamougoum Village succeeded in obtaining from the Prime Minister the declassification of the Bamougoum forest reserve and the compensatory classification of the KOUABANG reserve located in the conflict zone and belonging to Bameka; Nkeleng thus became KOUABANG!!!

The provisional management agreement for the said forest reserve was signed in 2012 between the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Fisheries and the Mayor of the Bafoussam 3 Council, which includes Bamougoum.

On October 22, 2015, the King of Bameka again submitted a request to the Governor of the West Region for the "materialization of the border between Bameka and Bamougoum."

Copies of this request were intentionally filed with the Office of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Development (MINATD).

While the Bameka people, respectful of Republican institutions and committed to secular peace, await the effective materialization of the boundary between the two Villages by the establishment of the markers provided for in Article 2 of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957 a group of people claiming to be the 4th generation of BASSANG descendants involved in this over 60-year old dispute and requested administrative recognition of the Bassang community, arguing that their territory is located in the conflict zone, straddling the Bamougoum and Bameka Villages.

In the meantime, the National Commission for the Settlement of Disputes Relating to the Boundaries of Administrative Districts and Traditional Command Units conducted a site visit on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. It is precisely on this occasion that we were requested by HRH Jean Raymond TAKOUKAM, King of the Bameka, to defend the interests of our Village.

During the visit, in the presence of administrative authorities, the Kings of the relevant Villages (Bameka and Bamougoum) accompanied by their notables, resource persons, and local residents, fruitful discussions took place, with each party asserting their claims.

We recalled the history of this conflict and the stages of its final settlement, followed by the start of its implementation, which was interrupted in 1977. To conclude, he informed the members of the Commission that what was now expected of the administration was the continued implementation of the limits as described in Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957.

Through a question-and-answer session, members of the National Dispute Settlement Commission were provided with the necessary clarifications.

Commission members, accompanied by all stakeholders and local residents, traveled through the settlements for nearly eight (8) kilometers, identifying along the way the natural boundaries as well as the markers of the new, so-called "arbitrary" boundary, according to the terms of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK issued on April 13, 1957, by Mr. DELAUNEY, then Chief Administrator of Overseas France and Head of the Bamileke Region.

At no time was the "Bassang community" invited to the discussions; indeed, according to the Commission President, it had never existed.

At the end of the work, a sense of calm and serenity emerged within the strong Bameka community present on site, awaiting the final report.

Surprisingly, after 18 months of waiting for the conclusions of the National Commission as well as the continuation of the work of materializing the boundaries between Bameka and Bamougoum, we received again a message from the Governor of the West Region informing us that a new site visit by the National Commission was scheduled for February 2, 2023.

On the occasion of this new visit, we realized, following the introductory remarks of the President of the Commission, that this descent was justified by the intervention of the "Bassang community." During the discussions of February 2, 2023, we vehemently demonstrated that the so-called "Bassang community," whose representatives presented themselves as the 4th generation of Bassang descendants, could not interfere in a border dispute settled since 1957 without the slightest claim from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations of Bassang. The 4th generation is, in all respects, a creation "ex nihilo," since the analysis of all existing documentation, which traces the stages of the settlement of the border dispute between Bameka and Bamougoum, nowhere does the existence of what is today sometimes called a "buffer village" or "Bassang community" emerge.

28 months after the Commission's last site visit, the conclusions are still awaited.

It is worth mentioning that in this interval, the Bamougoum Village and some actors are arrogating rights to themselves, multiplying acts of provocation and usurpation of title, among others:

- On the occasion of the celebration of the 51st National Unity Day (May 20, 2023), the Cameroonian Knight of Merit medal was awarded to the "traditional chief of the TAMPON BASSANG zone (Bafoussam 1st)!!! A legally non-existent entity.

- On June 30, 2023, the King of Bamougoum donated to the Cameroon Government (Ministry of Defense) a plot of land with a surface area of ten (10) hectares located in KOUABANG (initially called Nkeleng) for the construction of a fitness trail by military engineers. Obviously, this deed of donation, once discovered by the Bameka Village, was contested; not because the Bameka King was against the project to build the fitness trail, but to draw the attention of the authorities to the fact that the plot of land that was the subject of the donation does not belong to Bamougoum, since it is located in the disputed area.

We look forward to the full implementation of Decision No. 102/DR/RBK of April 13, 1957, so that the Bameka Vilage can peacefully enjoy this portion of land that belongs to them and for which we all have a duty to claim and preserve, in memory of KingTakoukam, following his own recommendation, "Even if I were to die, do not abandon our land of N'sang!"

Barrister Eveline Jouonzo

Attorney At Law

Member of the Cameroon Bar Council

Me EVELINE