By Sarli
Sardou Nana
April
6, 2014
Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada is the traditional ruler
of the Mbororo indigenous minority cattle herders of Ndzah village in Bamenda
III Sub Division in the North West Region of Cameroon. The Ardo’s residence was
situated on what is popularly called the “Mamada Hills” in
Ndzah (also known as Banjah) just outside Bamenda.
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| Irate Mbororos besiege Catholic University entrance |
The late father of Ardo Adamu in the person
of Ardo Mamada Bi Sodhari settled on the Mamada Hills around 1904 during the
German colonial rule. He was appointed Ardo at the same time with Ardo Sabga Bi
Hoba who founded Sabga. He was one of the first Mbororo herders to arrive the
North West Region and he was a very popular traditional ruler especially as he
had many cattle. It was because of his popularity that where he settled was
named “Mamada Hills” (also known as Banjah) named after Ardo Mamada Bi
Sodari.
The present farming community of Ndzah
(Banjah) arrived in the area in 1933 from Baforchu and settled in the area.
This is 29 years after the Mbororo settled there. They fully supported the
Catholic Church and the Government to evict the Mbororo.
Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada succeeded his late
father Ardo Mamada Bi Sodhari in 1964 at the age of 15 as the traditional ruler
of the Mbororo indigenous herders of Ndzah village. He was subsequently
recognized as such by the administration of Mezam Division. At the time of
eviction, 108 Mbororo herders live on the Mamada Hills with their wives and
children as well as over 1200 cattle, 300 sheep and 150 horses.
Sometimes in 2012, the Archbishop of Bamenda,
Cornelius Fontem Esua took unknown people to Mamada Hills and laid claim over
all of the Mamada Hills said to belong to the Catholic University of Bamenda.
When Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada tried to challenge the Archbishop’s claim over their
ancestral land, he was arrested by elements of the Gendarmerie Brigade Research
Unit in Mile 4 Nkwen, Bamenda, severely tortured and detained. He lost sight on
one of his eyes, lost one tooth and has permanent sight problems as a result of
the torture inflicted on him during and after his arrest. He was eventually
charged to court in the Court of First Instance of Bamenda in suit No
CFIBA/798C/12. Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada was accused of having on or about the 3rd
day of September 2012, at Ndzah village in the Mezam Judicial Division, without
being so empowered, used land belonging to the Catholic University of Bamenda
and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 8(4)
(5) of Ordinance No 74/1 of 6th July 1974 to establish rules governing land
tenure in Cameroon.
On 31 December 2012, one other close adviser
to the Ardo, Mallam GEBO was arrested, tortured and detained and was only
released after payment of FCFA 30,000. He suffered 21 days Temporal Incapacity
as a result of torture.
Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada being so embarrassed,
confounded and frustrated with the treatment he received from the Archbishop,
and could not understand how he could be charged to court for using land his
family has occupied since 1904 and all of a sudden said to belong to the
Catholic University, instituted suit No. CFIBA/15CM/2013 in the Court of First
Instance of Bamenda against the Catholic Arch Diocese of Bamenda and the
Catholic University of Bamenda. In the said suit, Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada prayed
the court for an eviction order, evicting the Catholic Arch Dioceses of Bamenda
from their ancestral land.
In reply to the suit referred to in the
preceding paragraph, the Archbishop of Bamenda through his Counsel filed a
Counter Affidavit on the 27/02/2013 wherein they attached Arrêté No.
000947/K.6.1/MINDAF/D1/D13 dated the 2nd day of September 2011 as Annex “A”,
where the Honourable Minister of State Property and Land Tenure made a Grant of
46 hectares, 38 acres and 98m of land in Ndzah to the Catholic University of
Bamenda, represented by Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua.
Despite the fact that the above Arrêté
allocated 46 hectares of land in the Mamada Hills as a Grant to the Catholic
University of Bamenda, the actual piece of land presently claimed by the
Archbishop is about 300 hectares. The Land Tenure laws in Cameroon provides
that the Minister in charge of lands can allocate a Grant only where the piece
of land is below 50 hectares. A Grant above 50 hectares of land can only be
made by the President of the Republic. It was for this reason that the
Archbishop of Bamenda applied for 46 hectares of land which the Minister
approved despite the fact that about 300 hectares of land is being claimed.
Ordinance No 74-1 of 6th July 1974 to
establish rules governing land tenure in Cameroon defines national lands in its
article 14. Article 14(1) provides that national lands shall as of right
comprise lands which at the date on which the present ordinance enters into
force, are not classed as public or private property of the state and other
public bodies. Article 15 goes further to state that national lands shall be
divided into two categories.
1. Lands occupied with houses, farms and
plantations and grazing lands manifesting human presence and development;
2. Lands free of any effective occupation.
Decree No 76 – 166 of 27 April 1976 to
establish the terms and conditions of management of National Lands in Cameroon
makes provision on how a piece of land can be allocated to an individual or
corporate body as a Grant. Article 1 of the above Decree provides that national
lands which are unoccupied or unexploited shall be allocated by Temporary Grant
of Right. Article 2 of the same Decree provides that temporary rights shall be
granted for development projects in line with the economic, social or cultural
policies of the state. Article 3 stipulates that the duration of the temporary
grant may not exceed 5 years, and in exceptional cases, it may be extended on reasoned
application by the grantee. From the above provision of the laws, a Temporary
Grant in Cameroon can only be made over unoccupied or unexploited national
land.
In paragraphs 7 and 8 of the counter
affidavit filed by the lawyer of the Archbishop and Catholic University of
Bamenda, it is stated that the crops and houses on the land given by the state
to the Catholic University as a grant were properly evaluated by the competent
administrative services and all those affected had been paid financial compensation
except Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada who refused to take 'compensation'. Annexes “C” and
D to D1 were attached to the Counter Affidavit to justify that fact. That only
buttresses the fact that the land allocated to the Catholic University as grant
by the state is occupied and exploited national land. How then could the
Archbishop and the competent administrative services of Mezam in violation of
the law prepare the file of the Catholic University and misled the Minister in
charge of lands to sign Arrêté No. 000947/K.6.1/MINDAF/D1/D13 on the 2nd day of
September 2011 allocating 46 hectares of the Mamada Hills as a grant to the
Catholic University?
While the court cases were going on, the
Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam, Nguelle Nguelle Felix in May 2013 led a
bulldozer to Bambilj and demolished 13 house belonging to Bambili villagers who
have land titles on their lands to create a resettlement site for the 300
Mbororo and their animals. Bambili people has made it clear that anyone who
comes to their land will be killed. Even if they went to the land there is no
building, no facilities. So this is not secure, safe, and appropriate or
enough land to resettle a community.
Meanwhile the prosecution witnesses in suit
No. CFIBA/798C/12 wherein Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada was charged for using land
belonging to the Catholic University never attended any court session and after
more than 10 adjournments, the matter was dismissed for want of diligent
prosecution. On the other hand, on the 31st day of July 2013, the Court of
First Instance of Bamenda delivered its ruling in suit No CFIBA/15CM/2013
instituted by Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada to evict the Archbishop and Catholic
University from their land. While dismissing Ardo Adamu’s application, the
presiding Magistrate, after a locus (court session on Mamada Hills), advised as
follows.
“This court’s advice to the applicant is
simple; having found that the land in question falls within the definition of
occupied and exploited national land, he should seize the competent Minister of
State Property and Land Tenure that made the grant or the competent
Administrative Court”.
When Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada was served with a
copy of the counter affidavit in suit No. CFIBA/15CM/2013 and he saw Arrêté No.
00947/K.6.1/MINDAF/D1/D13, his lawyer immediately challenged same with a
petition to the Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure in Yaounde.
After three months, the Minister did not reply to the Petition and as required
by law, the Minister’s non reaction was considered as rejection and Ardo Adamu
instituted the matter in the Administrative Court of the North West Region in
Bamenda in suit No NWAC/R/CF/004/2013. Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada also filed an
application for stay of execution of the Minister’s Arrêté pending the
determination of his suit challenging the legality of the said Arrêté. By
filing the application for stay of execution in the Administrative Court, the
Archbishop is legally estopped from enforcing the Minister’s Arrêté.
Contrary to the above legal provision, the
Archbishop of Bamenda Cornelius Fontem Esua on the 7th of March 2014 served
Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada and other Mbororo family heads of Ndzah village with a 2nd
“Quit Notice”, requesting them to quit their lands on or before the 14th of
March 2014 as any date thereafter, a caterpillar will destroy their houses and
farms without further compensation. In the same vain, the Divisional Officer of
Bamenda III Sub Division Ayuk Walters Tarkang served a letter on the Ardo and
his subjects captioned “Occupation of your respective parcels on the
resettlement site at Ndzah”. In his letter, the Divisional officer requested
the Mbororo family heads of Ndzah village to immediately move to new
resettlement site as their ancestral lands they presently occupy have been
allocated to the Arch diocese of Bamenda as a temporary grant.
Ardo Adamu’s lawyer replied to the Quit
Notice of the Archbishop and the letter of the Divisional Officer of Bamenda
III by reminding them that the legality of the Minister’s Arrêté is pending
determination in the Administrative Court of the North West Region in Bamenda
in suit No NWAC/R/CF/004/2013. He even attached a Certificate of filing the
suit in the Administrative court signed by the Registrar-in-Chief of the court
attesting to the fact that Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada has instituted suit No.
NWAC/R/CF/004/2013 challenging Arrêté No. 00947/K.6.1/MINDAF/D1/D13.
On the 19th March 2014, the Archbishop of
Bamenda sent a caterpillar to Ndzah village to destroy the houses of the
Mbororo herders. Ardo Adamu’s lawyer called the Senior Divisional Officer of
Mezam Nguelle Nguelle Felix by phone to find out whether his administration had
sent a caterpillar to Ndzah to destroy the houses of the Mbororo and he
insisted that he had given firm instructions to his subordinates not to
interfere with the lands of the Mbororo in Ndzah till the matter is resolved by
the Administrative Court of the North West Region and the administration was
not aware of any caterpillar going to the Mamada Hills in Ndzah.
The Mbororo herders of Ndzah came out like
one person and prevented the caterpillar from destroying their houses. It
resulted in a squabble wherein the Archbishop’s representative Jobain Cosmas
was seriously injured and the windscreen of a Toyota Hilux vehicle of the Arch
Diocese of Bamenda was shattered. Fon Christopher Achobang who is a sympathizer
of the plight of the Mbororo of Ndzah had an injury on the head. Abdulkarimu
Shehu who is the organizer of the Mbororo of Ndzah took elements of the 4th
Police District to the site after the incident was all over.
After this incident community reps met with
Prime Minister Philemon Yang on March 22, 2014. They submitted a petition
(which was not the first time). He assured them to stop any further activity on
the land until the Administrative Court makes a decision. He obviously did not
or his subordinates decided to ignore his instructions.
Representatives met the Minister Lands and
all relevant government officials including North-West Regional Governor
Adolphe Lele Lafrique. All of them agreed that no action can be taken until the
Administrative Court takes a decision. Yet is these very officials who
authorized and enforced the demolitions and eviction.
The indigenous Mbororo herders of Ndzah have
for ones seriously defended their ancestral land from Archbishop Cornelius
Fontem Esua. If Cameroon is a state of law and if one were to consider those to
be law abiding, it will obviously be the Archbishop and the clergy. We are
witnessing the contrary where the Archbishop is violating the laws of the state
with impurity in an attempt to illegally deprive the Mbororo minority
indigenous herders of Ndzah village of their ancestral land. The Archbishop is
obviously receiving the support of the local and wider government of Cameroon
especially as the former Divisional Delegate of Lands in Mezam reminded the
Ardo that the President of the Republic of Cameroon is a staunch Catholic and
will always protect the interest of the Catholics.
On the 20th day of March 2013, Abdulkarim
Shehu was arrested by elements of the Judicial Police in Bamenda on the
strength of a warrant signed by the State Counsel of Mezam Division. He signed
four warrants with two in the names of Abdulkarim Shehu and Fon Christopher
Achobang respectively with two having no names and the policemen are at liberty
to fill the names of any Mbororo from Ndzah they deem necessary to arrest.
Mallam Yunusa another community organiser was arrested on to join
Abdulkarim. Both were released after 8 days in detention. Fon Christopher
Achobang went into hiding and is yet to be arrested.
On 3rd April 2014, the Catholic Church backed
by 50 gendarmes and North-West Administration hired 3 bulldozers that
demolished all homes belonging the Mbororo of Mamada Hills. A Court Injunction
served to the gendarmes by Court Bailiffs was ignored. They were supported by
the Fon (Chief), Nkwenti Ndaka, Chairman of Ndzah Traditional Council. The
community is how homeless and destitute in violation of the law.
No consideration was given to children,
elderly and the sick in this process. Children's school needs were ignored.
Their emotional or welfare needs did not matter to the government or the
Catholic Church.
The Justice and Peace Commission of the
Catholic Church in Bamenda ignored the plight of the Mbororo of Banjah despite
several meetings with its head Laura Anyola Tufon and is also a member of
Cameroon’s National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms. She has received
an Award from the US Government for her work on Child Trafficking. She works on
conflict resolution in the North-West Region but for for 5 years since this
conflict started inside Bamenda she has not raised a finger.
On Saturday 5th April 2014, the
destitute Mbororo of Banjah marched peacefully to the Bamenda Cathedral, the
residence of Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua where they are organizing an
indefinite sit-in. The Catholic authorities called in gendarmes to remove the
protesters. Gendarmes removed them from the premises of the Catholic Church but
they continued their protest on the road side entrance to the Big Mankon
Catholic Cathedral.
This case demonstrates that Mbororo people in
Cameroon do not have or enjoy any land rights. This is a case where the present
land laws were violated with impunity. Court orders and ongoing process were
ignored. All the key government officials were on the side of the Catholic
Church. A part of the Catholic Church which is a state (The Vatican) operating
within and in connivance with another state have dispossessed people of their
rights and made them destitute. It shows human rights campaigners are selective
about whose rights they defend and the future looks to me very bleak.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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