Mukonje, Malende land dispute stalls FCFA 32 M water project

The boundary dispute pitting Mukonje and Malende chiefdoms on the outskirts of Kumba, Meme Southwest Region, has stalled work on a recent FCFA 32 million water extension project for both communities, The Post has learnt.

On September 15, a group of unidentified persons reportedly stormed the water track where work was in progress and discarded pegs, destroying other foundation works that had been executed for the water project.

The Chairman of the Mukonje Traditional Council, Alexander Otto Abange, expressed dismay at the act which, he said, was uncalled for. According to the Traditional Council Chairperson, the move demonstrated an anti-development attitude which may see the people of both communities losing in the end.

Abange recounted how both villages have been visiting the office of the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO for Meme, protesting against one another. Going by Abange, the Malende villagers were led by their Chief Peter Esambi Ngoh II. Abange said sources at the SDO’s cabinet recounted to him that the protesters were shouting “Otto must die” and other threats.

In the wake of these twist and turns, Abange has declined that his life is at risk, saying he has submitted his reports alongside that of bailiffs, concerning the situation, to the appropriate quarters for action. Chief Peter Esambi II of Malende village has not been available to comment on the recent twist in the land and boundary disputes.

But he had earlier told The Post in an interview on September 12 that, some of his subjects were spoiling for an attack on Mukonje but he was holding them back. Esambi, in the same interview with The Post, announced a meeting of Monday, September 15, at the SDO’s office grouping the disputing parties. The said meeting, The Post gathered, never took place.

The Mukonje/Malende water project, it should be recalled, had earlier on been used by John Kona Makia, Mayor of the Kumba III Council to mollify problems within the two villages before the recent outburst. The water project was designed by the Kumba III Council and forwarded to the Government for sponsorship.