DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION
Archdiocese of Bamenda
P.O. Box 82, Bamenda; www.archdioceseofbamenda.org
COMMUNIQUE
ON THE POSITION OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BAMENDA
ABOUT THE CATUC LAND
1. In 2010 the Metropolitan
Archbishop of Bamenda, His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua, in his capacity as
Chancellor of the Catholic University of Cameroon, CATUC, Bamenda, made a
formal request according to the usual traditional practice for a piece of land
to HRH the Fon of Ndzah, a village in Bamenda III Sub-Division of Mezam
Division, in the N.W.Region of Cameroon.
2. This request was
considered and accepted and a piece of land indicated. Thereafter, the
Archbishop followed all administrative procedures to officially acquire the
piece of land. And when the news of the creation of a Catholic University
reached the people and Mbororos of Ndzah they expressed joy, evidenced by a
correspondence by Boba Mamada and Sali Mamada on behalf of the Mbororo
family of Mamada of 15 June 2010 copying the administration. On 3
August 2010, the same trio addressed another Letter of Appreciation, to HRH the
Fon Ndzah, copying all the interested parties, thanking the Fon “for bringing
development nearer to us especially the Catholic University.”
3. The Archbishop later
applied for a grant of a part of the national land which the Land Consultative
Board had allocated through the administrative authorities of Bamenda III Sub
Division and Mezam Division. On 22 November 2011, the Bamenda III Land
Consultative Board was set up by Prefectoral Order to demarcate this piece of
land for the Catholic University. The competent authorities also did the
evaluation of what was on the land which directly involved 14 people including
two non-Mbororos. And this amounted to 23million five hundred and eighty four
thousand two hundred and thirty six francs. The Mezam Divisional Authorities
received this recommendation and after doing their own findings, they endorsed
and forwarded the request to the Honourable Minister of State Property and Land
Tenure. Based on the competencies of these administrative authorities, and by
Arreté No. 000947/K.6.1/MINDAF/D13 of 2 Sept. 2011, the Honourable Minister of
State Property and Land Tenure, His Excellency Beleoken Jean Baptiste, made a
formal grant of this land to His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua, pending a payment
into the public treasury of a sum of 13 million francs cfa.
4. The Archbishop
actually paid the sum of 13 million nine hundred and sixteen thousand nine
hundred and forty francs on 22 June 2012; and the Revenue Collector for Lands
Mezam, certified an attestation of this payment. On the 11 August 2012, the
site plan for the resettlement of the Mbororos displaced from Ndzah Village was
made available following a Sub Prefectoral Decision No. 1988 of 11 August 2012
and it clearly shows where each of the Mbororos displaced was to settle. On
Monday 1 October 2012, the Archbishop paid the full amounts of compensation to
13 people who turned up for their money. Only one of them Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada
did not collect his amount of 1.056.960frs cfa. Otherwise, the Archbishop of
Bamenda paid, as requested, a total cash amount of 22million five hundred and
twenty seven thousand, two hundred and seventy six francs cfa to those
concerned. Their signatures, Identity Card numbers, and the corresponding
amounts which each of them received are documented in the Archbishop's House,
in the Court of First Instance Bamenda and can also be verified from the Letter
of the D.O. Bamenda III.
5. By the end of 2012,
no serious opposition about the land came from the Fon, the Traditional Council
of Ndzah, the Mbororos in Ndzah and the Government of Cameroon. On the contrary
everyone was excited that development was coming to Ndzah village. It was
not until 2013 that Ardo Adamu Bi Mamada, the same Ardo who, on behalf of the
Mamada Family, had signed a letter of appreciation in 2010 to the Fon of Ndzah,
now tended an objection to all that had been agreed before. His objections were
however, handled by the Court of First Instance of Bamenda holden at Bamenda,
on 31 July 2013. The judgement upheld all the previous arrangements with the
Fon of Ndzah, the Traditional Council of Ndzah, the Mbororos of Ndzah, the
Administrative authorities of Bamenda III Sub-Division,and Mezam Division
and the Honourable Minister of State Property and Land Tenure.
6. On 24 September 2013,
the SDO for Mezam through a correspondence, instructed the D.O Bamenda III to
ensure that they “quit the mission's land before December 31st 2013.” However, the Archbishop of Bamenda
applied for authorization to begin work on the site, which was duly granted by
the City Council. The Court of First Instance, Bamenda, also confirmed by a
Certificate of Non-Appeal on 26 February 2014 certifying that there has been no
appeal against the judgment of the court. So, on 6 March 2014, the
Archbishop of Bamenda notified the Ardo that work would soon begin on the plot
acquired for CATUC in Ndzah. On Wednesday 19 March 2014 the Archdiocesan
Director of the Office for Lands was on the way to the site to begin work
accompanied by a camera man.
7. A certain Mr. Fon
Christopher Achobang, who claims to be a “Human Rights Activist” emerged from
the bush with a crowd of people, made up of Mbororos and some people said to be
from Bambili village. They attacked the caterpillar and the archdiocesan
vehicle and thereafter attacked also the Director of Lands, on instructions
from Mr. Achobang to kill him. By Divine intervention he managed to escape for
safety and ended up in a hospital. The vehicle he used was completely
vandalized as well as the caterpillar and the driver. The said “human rights
activist” has not only published false, damaging and misleading information on
newspapers and social networks, he is also inciting the Mbororos to rise up
against the Church threatening to invite Al Quaedaand Boko Haram to come to their assistance. On 4 April 2014,
Friday night about 7.30pm, some 30 Mbororos (men, women and children) invaded
the privacy of the Cathedral Parish until the intervention of the
Administration.
8. It would be wrong to
give the impression that the Mbororos of Ndzah have been treated unfairly. Some
media houses have insinuated that the Archbishop was only granted 46 hectares
and that the property of the Mbororos was outside this land. The facts on the
ground contradict these claims. The Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of
Bamenda stands for justice, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence. In fact we
have very good relationships with all Christian denominations and religions.
Therefore, the insinuations about Al Quaeda and Boko Haram are uncalled for. Cameroon is a State of Law,
and no Cameroonian can imagine that he is above the law. We therefore
call on all Catholic Christians, all other Christians and all people of good
will including the other Mbororo families who took their money and have settled
somewhere else, to remain calm; to show more love towards our Mbororo brothers
and sisters; and to continue to pray for peace in this our fatherland.
Done at Bamenda this day Wednesday 9 April 2014
Rev. Father Humphrey Tatah Mbuy
Director of Communications
Archdiocese of Bamenda
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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