Meme and Kupe-Muanenguba Divisions:

Baduma and Melongo villages fighting over land
By Sirri Ntonifor Tangwe in Kumba

Nfon V.E. Mukete, paramount ruler of the Bafaws; Can he determine

 the land boundary between Baduma and Melongo

The land dispute pitting Melongo and Badume, two villages in Kupe Muanenguba and Meme divisions respectively took a fresh twist last week this, after over 100 farmers from Melongo stormed the Meme SDO’s office. The farmers accused Chief Mboe Akong Rolland of Baduma Village in Konye Sub-Division, Meme Division, of encroaching upon their lands while the administration seemingly turns a deaf ear to their complaints.
    The farmers disclosed that they have had to pay twice for these lands, first to the chief of Baduma, and to the Melongo traditional council. The farmers have vowed they cannot forego these lands.
    One farmer, Akwano Francis, said the current situation angers him because he has purchased 5 farms in the area, and planted more than 10.000 plantains, apart from cocoa and palm trees. “These are my only investments in life,” he wept.
    The Meme SDO allegedly appeased the farmers and asked them to return to their farmlands in peace, assuring them that the land in question is not under the custody of the Chief of Baduma. The SDO added that the land across the River Mungo belongs to Kupe Muanenguba Division, and that anyone selling land there is doing so illegally.
    The SDO reportedly asked those who had bought land in that area from the Chief of Baduma report to him officially so that the matter can be investigated and thrashed.
    The legal counsel representing the Chief of Melongo and the farmers’ faction across River Mungo, Barrister Njume Dennis, also intimated that the Chief of Baduma was recently seen in the company of Prince Ekale Mukete of Kumba with a large cow and bags of rice which they shared to the Baduma community, informing them that the government wanted to use part of their land. Later, he said, some persons were seen looking around in farms within the land across the Mungo, and when approached, these persons informed them that Prince Ekale had purchased that land from the Chief of Baduma.
    After awaiting government intervention in vain, and sighting foreigners allegedly mapping out part of the land in the company of Chief Mboe, the Chief of Melongo Village, HRH Ebako as an interim measure, released a communiqué in which he threatened that ‘anybody found transacting with the chief of Baduma over the land... shall be evicted by any means within the powers of the Melongo community.’ In response, Chief Mboe also sent out a communiqué stressing that no such claims should be made about his person without accompanying documents to verify facts.

    The stretch of land in dispute is a vast fertile level land across River Mungo, known to be excellent for agriculture and containing certain trees of economic value which can bring in income to the community.
    According to Barrister Njume Dennis, the Mungo River acts as boundary between Baduma and Melongo villages, with the lands across the river being within Tombel Sub-Division, not Konye Sub-Division. These lands, he says, are not to be sold but can be allocated to interested persons in exchange for a ceremonial gift.
    Thus, Chief Ebako has always accused Chief Mboe of arrogating powers to himself to sell land which is not within his custody. Barrister Njume revealed that a complaint has been lodged with the administration, with suggestions made that the latter should set up a regional land consultative board to look into the matter.
    To back the Melongo claim, Barrister Njume explains that in 2002, a logging company received a concession to exploit timber in the disputed area. As per legal demands, the company gave 40% of its royalties to the Tombel Council while 10% went to the Melongo community, with neither the Tombel Council nor Baduma receiving a dime.


Enter the Muketes
    For his part, Prince Ekale has refuted the allegations brought against him. He pointed out that the land accorded to him, on behalf of his brother, measures 250 hectares; and it is impossible for Chief Mboe to have sold the land given that he is forbidden by law from selling any parcel of land above 50 hectares. Prince Ekale told a press conference that the land was awarded to him and his partners by the Meme SDO, Koulbout Aman David, under prefectoral order No. 388/2014 signed on 24 September 2014. He said the land has been earmarked to host a large cattle and dairy farm and industry along the Mungo River near Baduma Village in Meme Division. The said industry named Crestmond Beef and Dairy Company Ltd is owned by Prince Colin Mukete.
    To Prince Ekale, the diary farm project will bring untold development to the said area, with provision of jobs, water, electricity, etc. He appealed to the population concerned to avoid being sentimental about the land issue because they may lose a veritable development project.
    On Chief Mboe’s part, while denying allegations that he collected 200 million FCFA from Prince Ekale for the land in question, he stated categorically that Baduma “has boundaries with Kurume and Bangone, but not with Melongo.” He averred that Melongo is too far away from Baduma, with intervening villages, so that there can be no border disputes between the two villages.
    Prince Ekale concurred with this, saying the land he received is closer to Baduma, Matongo and Kumba, than to Melongo. During the press conference, Prince Ekale Mukete brandished some 5 maps and several agreements signed way back in the 1900s demarcating Baduma from Kurume and Bangone. He pointed out that there are no administrative boundaries between divisions, and as such, SDOs have the discretion in all decisions regarding this.
    According to Chief Mboe, the disputed land is located 1km from the main dwelling and farming lands of his subjects so that the dissidents are nothing but ‘unidentified opportunists and squatters who just stepped in and established farms illegally’. He however assured that both his subjects and the squatters shall receive compensation for their lands in due time.
    The Baduma-Melongo land saga therefore is a tangled tale, with both parties using the authority of the Meme SDO to justify their claims. With accusations and counter-accusations on the horizon, the saga is far from over.