Mankon, Nsongwa clash again over disputed land

The people of Mankon and Nsongwa in Bamenda, Northwest Region, have once again clashed over a disputed piece of land at Nkvurah.

The neighbours clashed with both sides accusing each other of disrespecting an administrative injunction placed on the disputed piece of land.

The long saga of the boundary disputes pitting the Mankon and the Nsongwa communities in Mezam Division reared its ugly head on January 9, 2016. Both communities burnt down houses, destroyed landed property and inflicted injuries both ways.

On January 12, 2016, the SDO of Mezam organised a crisis meeting in his office featuring the Fons of Mankon and the Nsongwa and two elites each.

The SDO asked all to return to their various fondoms and maintain peace till Thursday, January 14, 2016. According to him, that will be when his cabinet would go down the field to evaluate the damages and determine who disrespected the administrative injunction.

Meanwhile, according to the Fon of Nsongwa, Fo’Ngwade III, the Mankon people are the guilty party.

“I went to the site on Saturday to evaluate the level of invasion by the Mankon people. I completed the exercise and returned to my palace. It was just then the boys on their return home were attacked by Mankon people. Tell me who is the one who attacked first? I have respected the injunction order to the letter. Even with the injunction order, the Mankon people went ahead to appoint a quarter head to rule the place in dispute.

He came with a signboard and put it up here which I removed and have presented to the services of the SDO.I have all the documents justifying the ownership of Nsongwa over Nkvurah. If Mankon people have a single document, they should take me to court. Mankon is big, has the biggest elite and has its sons and daughters spread out as administrators throughout the whole area.

Land certificates are currently processed for people to own land in a disputed area. I do not think that these vices are committed by the Nsongwa people,” said Fo’Ngwade III.

On their part, the Mankon people said one Martin Tamukong who lives in the USA induced the Fon of Nsongwa to storm the disputed area, bypassing the prefectural injunction.

They say the Fon of Nsongwa himself led the invasion which caused huge material, human and landed property damage on the Mankon people who are peaceful and law-abiding. Barrister Gabriel Alambi Ngang, said the Nsongwa people attacked first.

“Last Saturday, Nsongwa youth blocked the road leading to Bali from Mankon on grounds that we have violated the prefectural order. They accused Mankon of erecting structures in the area. All these are baseless accusations. The people of Mankon are law abiding.

After the meeting with the regent SDO for Mezam, we shall maintain peace till Thursday when he will be in the field. The issue of attacking people on grounds of the violation of the prefectural injunction is not founded. There have been violent acts on foundations, people and even looting by the people of Nsongwa which is highly provocative.

The punishment for violation is not destruction or attacks. There is a provision in the Penal Code that sanctions any party who bypasses a prefectural order. The Nsongwa people have no right to destroy our foundations,” said Barrister Alambi Ngang.

He added that the law shall prevail.

The said land in dispute has been a thorn in the flesh of the Northwest administration which comes up almost annually each time the farming season approaches. In the face of this perennial dispute, the administration has been faulted for playing to the gallery, delaying the final verdict so as to continue feeding fat from the dispute.

The Mezam SDO refused to comment when The Post contacted him.