Fon of Njap wins Suit against Donga Mantung SDO

Fon of Njap

The North West regional Administrative Court has passed judgment on the law suit pitting the Fon of Njap as plaintiff, against the State of Cameroon represented by Donga Mantung Senior Divisional Officer, SDO. The decision vindicated the traditional ruler who had asked the court to annul a Prefectoral Order, signed in an attempt to settle a land dispute in his fondom.
     In the ruling dated December 24, the court outlined the genesis of the dispute – that the SDO for Donga Mantung, had taken a decision giving the divisional officer for Mesaje subdivision and his security collaborators powers to administer a quarter in Njap community known as Ngong-Njap, found in Nkambe subdivision. At the time of the SDO’s order, the Ngog-Njap community was under disputed between the Fon of Njap and that of Kamine village. The dispute had been prompted by the death of the sub-chief of Ngong, killed on March 3, 2015.

     In the Fon of Njap’s petition to the administrative court, he stated among other things, that the “SDO knew very well that Ngong is found in Njap under Nkambe Central.” He told the court president, Rose Mbah Acha Fomundam, that the SDO’s decision was a subtle method to reduce the scope of his village and allocate part of it to another village for personal reasons.
     The verdict of the court simply annulled the prefectoral decision and gave the traditional ruler the right to carry out traditional rites on the disputed locality in honour of the dead sub chief.
     The court also pointed out among other reasons for the verdict, that the prefectoral order, ‘solving’ a land dispute, was “not arrived at by a legally constituted commission as envisaged by Decree No 78/322 of 03/08/1978 on the creation of commissions for the settlement of boundary disputes between administrative units and disputes between traditional communities.”