Notorious Bafaw-Mukonje land saga:

Chief Ebanja drags lawyer to court for defamation

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Barrister Awuta Philip

Just when many people thought the dust might have settled on the long-drawn dispute between the Bafaws and the Mukonjes over the land earmarked by government as the permanent site of the Higher Technical Teachers Training College, HTTTC Kumba and the parcel lying opposite the site extending to the Kumba railway station, the matter has rather taken a new twist, with two protagonists in the drama haven simultaneously dragged each other to court on allegations of defamation.

                While the two warring factions await the final verdict of the matter at the level of the administrative court, the recent wave of development amongst some actors involved in the set land saga is making a lot of headline news in Kumba. Two prominent actors in the land matter have dragged themselves to court on allegations of defamation.

                The lead counsel of the Bafaw traditional council, Barrister Awutah Philip Atubah has sued the Chairman of the Mokunje traditional council, Otto Alexandre Abange for defamation while Chief Ebanja Gabriel, traditional ruler of the Mukonje clan has also sued Barrister Awutah Philip for defamation, we learned on good authority.

                These developments are coming up even when the Administrative Court is expected to rule on a matter bearing on the cancellation of six land titles brandished by some Mukonje people, who are claiming ownership of the land, and barely weeks after the Minister of Higher Education laid the foundation stone for the construction of the HTTTC.

                The Median gathered that Barrister Awutah Philip is ruffled by information spreading in town that he is playing a double game that is, collecting legal fees from the Bafaws to defend them in court against the Mukonjes and at the same time running behind some Mukonje elite asking them to give his own share of the land in dispute.

                The source said that Barrister Awutah has adopted this strategy because he is not too sure the court will rule in his favour, and because he does not want to emerge as best loser in the matter.

                The chairman of the Mukonje traditional council is quoted to have once in a radio interview told a journalist that “Barrister Awutah has asked me to keep his own land” adding that “when water don dirty for up any man di find na ei own garri”. This statement according to our interlocutor is what has made the legal spokesman of the Bafaw traditional council to drag Otto Alexandre Abange, chairman of the Mukonje traditional council to court.

                We gathered that the Barrister is afraid such statements made by Otto will make his client have doubts on his intentions while handling their matter with the same community he is reportedly begging land from.

                However, it should be recalled that on Thursday July 20, 2017 in a press conference, Barrister Awutah Philip Atubah distanced himself from all claims of any discussions with  Otto Abange on him keeping his own booty (portion of land in the disputed area) when the dust must have settled.

                This reporter has further gathered that the chief of Mukonje village, Chief Ebanja Gabriel has fired back and dragged Barrister Awutah Philip to court as well for defamation. We learnt that Chief Ebanja is not happy with certain utterances made by Barrister Awutah Philip in his July 20 press conference in Kumba. During the said press conference, Barrister Awutah is quoted to have said “the Mukonjes are not from the southwest region. The Mukonjes are from Mombo and Mbanga as per historical facts. They escaped from wars and due to the hospitality of the Bafaws they were accommodated here and they used to pay land tax. Mukonje was a quarter in Kumba after a while about 1902 Kumba decided to give some freedom to Mukonje to operate as a village” Barrister Awutah narrated months back.

                This declaration of Barrister Awutah raised so many eyebrows both in the camp of Bafaws and the Mukonjes. This piece of information we gathered from a source close to the chairman of the Mukonje traditional council is what has pushed the chief Ebanja to dragged Barrister Awutah to court among others.

                It is not immediately known why Chief Ebanja Gabriel also dragged Barister Awutah to court. But speculations are that he might have done so because Barrister Awutah had also sued the chairman of the Mukonje traditional council.

                As at now, the ruling of the administrative judge as to who are the rightful owners of the disputed piece of land is still been awaited.