·
Achu Chrispo, aged 22,
hails from Ni John Fru Ndi’s Village.
·
He has lived in Bafanji since 2004 but was exiled
on 20th May 2013.
·
Given 30 minutes by the
fon to leave because he refused to bare false witness.
·
He abandoned a petrol
retail business worth over 350.000 FRS CFA, he is owed over 200.000 FCFA of debts
from Airtime sales, and a big tomatoes farm.
 |
| Chrispo at business place in Bafanji |
It appears that agony, threats and
intimidation seems to be the order of the day in Bafanji village in the
Balikumbat Sub Division ever since the village saw the enthronement of
Fon Ngwefoun II who doubles as a Magistrate.
Just last month, a number of newspapers carried with them some information about mismanagement
of Bafanji Village development funds, as
well as some accusations levied against
the fon in which some of his elites in the Diaspora accused
him of
using his position as a Magistrate
and the fon to threaten and even excommunicate elites who opposed his actions in the village
.The fon came out forcefully to defend
himself in the mismanagement scandal in
an interview granted on 3rd June to the Eye Newspaper online but
failed to answer some allegations against him. His interview provoked further
exposure on recent happenings in Bafanji, bringing to light the case of an
industrious Achu Chrispo, a son of BABA II village who has lived
peacefully in Bafanji village since 2004 until he was unjustly evicted from Bafanji by the fon
of Bafanji after receiving a snake beating from his thugs code named “BIR” who
are also accused of other serious incident of human rights abuses. Our reporters
got interested in these excommunication orders of the fon, and picked up with
two victims, as well as eyewitnesses to recount the ongoing issues in the
“Troubled Fondom”.
Achu
Chrispo, is a 22 years old hard working young man who hails from BABA II
village in Santa Sub Division. He is the son of Late Fomukong Joseph, who was
married to Margerate Kuma. He first moved to Bafanji in 2004 to join his
brother Akere Patrick who was the pastor of Full Gospel Mission Bafanji from
2003 to 2006.He studied at GBHS Bafanji as the third batch till 2006.He later
move to complete school in Bamenda but
decided to moved back to Bafanji where
he was employed as a Sales Assistance to
an Elite , One year after he got employment with Alpha Engineering in Yaounde
in 2008. After raising some money, he
decided to come back to Bafanji in 2009 to start off a business of his own,
where he supplied Calling Credit to retailers, sold petrol, kerosene and Engine
oil, until he was forced to leave on the faithful 20th May 2013 when
the fon of Bafanji gave him 30 minutes to leave his village abandoning his
petrol shop valued at over 350.000frs CFA with creditors owing him over
200.000frs CFA for Airtime Credit, besides a large tomatoes farm he left
behind.
As we spoke to Chrispo, he burst into
tears recounting how life had been difficult for him and his mother after they
lost their father when he was still in his early years. He did recount to us
the incidents leading to his exile from Bafanji and lamented how he lost his
business and money following this ordeal.
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| An example of hard work, Chrispo’s Tomatoes farm |
As the story goes, during the May 20th,
2013 National Day Celebrations in Bafanji, two brothers of the Luweh’s family
broke out into a fight at the ceremonial ground, prompting a third party whose name the press got as “Majinette” to
intervene in separating the fight. Once separated, one of the brothers fighting
whose name the reporter got as David who is teacher and partially handicap, reported
his younger brother with whom he had been fighting to the fon. In so doing, he
deliberately twisted the incident to implicate the boy who came in to separate
the fight. Without any inquiry from eye witnesses, the Fon ordered his thugs (BIR)
to bring in David’s younger brother and the boy who helped separate the fight.
At his orders, the boys were asked to creep over a distance of 200 meters on
sharp gravel towards the fon who sat in the market square and was drinking,
after which they were stripped naked, water boarded, rubbed in mud and beating
mercilessly by BIR members, most especially by
one member called “ Bruce Lee”.
Achu Chrispo who was sitting in his
petrol shop had heard shouting outside and came out to see what was going
on. Having been at the 20th
May ceremonial ground, standing next to David and his brother when the fight
broke out, and seeing that Majinette only helped separate the fight, he was the
only reliable witness to testify as to what took place. He found the implication and torture of “Majinette”
- the boy who had only helped in separating the fight incomprehensible and tried to explain that the boy being beaten did nothing wrong but just tried to separate
the fight. He said “What the fon and his BIR are doing is not right because they
should have even asked those who witnessed the fight during the incident before ordering any
beating action”. On hearing this, one of the BIR went and reported him to the
Fon. He went back into his shop, shortly afterwards, the fon sent “Bruce Lee” to
whisk off Chrispo from his shop. At a distance, the fon ordered that he go down
on his knees and creep on the gravel towards him. Not knowing what he had done,
he refused, requesting to know what his crime was. Immediate the fon ordered
“Bruce Lee” to take action. He was beaten, his dresses torn off while the fon
watched, water pour on his body and the beating left him with an acute chest
pain. His former employer rushed in and intervene bringing the matter to calm,
and took him to where fon was sitting. Filled with Pride and shame, coupled
with the fact that youths around the market jeered the fon about the nasty
incident, the fon felt humiliated and so decided to expel Achu Chrispo giving
him only 30 minutes to be in Bafanji. Chrispo for fear of his life left behind
virtually everything and within 30 minutes was out of Bafanji.
He told our reporters that for all
his years that he lived in Bafanji, he has never had any problem with any
elite. He said that he sold in a big provision store, and was well settled by
the elite enabling him to start off his own business; he described the Bafanji
people as very welcoming people and very hard working but that ever since the
late fon disappeared, things have changed in many directions with the present
fon. Things he said, he can’t recount because it does not concern him. He told
us that while a student, he did community work, and together with his football
team, they cleaned the palace and around the market square. He however regretted
that despite living there peacefully, all what he laboured ended in vain, as he
has been informed that his tomatoes farm was all harvested by thieves in the
village. Today, Chrispo is without a business and is hanging around the Ndop
Area to see how to raise money again and start off his business in another
village with his Pastor Brother.
Our Reporters went on the field to
get the views of some elites from Bafanji on this unfortunate incident. While
some were willing to talk but choose to remain anonymous, others were unwilling
because they said that the Fon had threatened in Yaoundé during a visit there
that he will set an example on any elite in Cameroon who was sharing information
with elites of the Diaspora to write and criticise him on Bafanji Community
Face Book Group.
From what we gathered, the elites
found the incident involving Chrispo very disgraceful. Speaking to our reporter one elite speaking
on anonymity told us that the Fon has disgraced himself as a magistrate, Bafanji Village as a whole and Ni John Fru
Ndi. He said, he cannot be a legal mind and goes on banning people from his
village indiscriminately whereas he should know what the law says above any
other person. He went on to say that he
wonders how Fru Ndi will feel if he were to hear that an elite of his own village
was forcefully and unjustly evicted from Bafanji when he Fru Ndi was there with
a delegation to pay homage and respect to the new Fon of Bafanji during his
late father’s memorial celebration.
Other elites pointed out that the
matter of Chrispo is only one of the many problems that Bafanji is facing as of
now and it’s only a deeper investigation that can uncover what is going on in
their village. They posited that Chrispo’s matter was evoked on June 2nd
2013 in Bafanji Meeting in Bamenda in which the fon was in attendance. Elites
found the incident unacceptable and he was advised to see the fon of Baba II to
address the situation and explain himself to him in a friendly apologetic
manner, but they doubts if the Fon has done it considering that he is full of
pride and arrogance. They went on to say that the fon has suddenly felt that he
is above every other Fon in the region because he is a magistrate and sees
himself as above the law.
While Bafanji elites in and around
Bamenda were unwilling to comment on this matter, The Press got in contact with
one Elite of the Bafanji Diaspora in the person of Lienghotue Gideon of Ireland
who has suffered similar fate of excommunication like Chrispo and he granted a damming exclusive interview to different press organs
about his situation and the much talked of upcoming memorial services of his
parents which is taking a different tone, with the Fon and “Kwifon” of Bafanji demanding that he writes an Article and publish on Bafanji Community Face Book Group and
present them with a signed copy as a precondition if the memorial service of his parents
must take place.........
Questions as to whether the social media frenzy has also caught
even our most sacred secret societies abound high in Bafanji village. However, all attempts to get to the fon of Bafanji for his own side of the story were fruitless.
Up Next: Exclusive Interview with Lienghotue Gideon
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa
