Anglophone Unrests Stall Mbonge Cultural Festival

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

The disappearance of the traditional ruler of Mbonge Marumba, Chief Daniel Matta Mokambe coupled with death threats slammed some other traditional rulers of Meme Division has been blamed for the non-holding of the 44th edition of the cultural jamboree of the Mbonge Cultural and Development Association, MECDO.

                Scores of Mbonge descendants told this reporter that for close to a month now the paramount ruler of the Mbonges, Daniel Matta Mokambe who is supposed to play host to their rotatory annual cultural come together at Mbonge Marumba has not been seen anywhere close to the Sub-Division since he was shortlisted for assassination by Ambazonia separatists soldiers for allegedly refusing to succumb to demands to fund the Ambazonia war.

                The paramount traditional custodian of the Mbonges cum politician is said to have been spotted earlier during his escape in Kumba and recently in another town in the region (name withheld for security reasons) where he is running his council and chiefdom.

                Apart of chief Daniel Matta Mokambe scores of other chiefs are also on the run to other distant areas for safety while others have braved the odds to withstand the death threats by succumbing to pressure from the forces fighting for the independence of te ghost ‘Federal Republic of Ambazonia‘.

                The MECDO cultural jamboree had been slated for first week of February 2018 at Mbonge Marumba and all the elites have revealed they can’t risk their lives just to organise a cultural event. It should be noted that the ongoing war between the Ambazonia separatist fighters and government forceshas caused a lot of insecurity in the entire sub-division thereby making it risky for any gathering.

                The rotatory celebration that brings together the 45 villages that comprise the Mbonge Clan with 28 of them from Mbonge Sub-Division and 17 from Konye Sub-Division and the newest of the  last held on March 5, 2017 in Weme village under Konye subdivision under the theme “The Mbonges and Sustainable Development for Emergence”. During last year’s event, MECDO’s President General, Justice Bea Abednego Kalla, revealed that the age of the organization speaks volume of unity and development. With the developments on the ground in the division is therefore difficult to predict when the next MECDO will hold since no one can tell when the war on separatists in Meme Division will be laid to rest.