Peterkins Manyong
9 May 2008
Members of the Bamenda Land Consultative Board are in a state of agitation following accusations that they are plotting to favour a trespasser in a land dispute.
The accuser, a certain Joseph Chi Chi, claims that he is the rightful owner of the piece of land at Mbifiebie, a quarter in Mankon and that the Assistant DO of Bamenda Central, Mathew Itoe, who is Chairman of the Land Consultative Board, and three Board members, had ganged up against him.
The Board members are Godlove Takwa, Divisional Chief of Service for Land Tenure,Sylvester Ndenge, representative of the Fon of Mankon and Andre Tamoungue, a Surveyor. The four are said to be backing Peter Che Kwatoro, an alleged trespasser on the land.
Speaking to The Post, Chi Mofor and his younger brother, Alfred Mofor, said the piece of land was owned by their late father Sam Che Mofor who permitted the father of Kwatoro to tap wine from the palm bush on it. According to them, Kwatoro and his family are today claiming ownership of the land.
Chi Mofor said he had petitioned the NW Governor on the matter and the Governor ordered the DO of Bamenda Central to re-examine the land dispute and forward to him details of what the commission had done since February 14, 2007. According to him, Benjamin Sama, Legal Adviser to the Governor, was to represent him, the Governor, at the next Board meeting.
In a letter dated September 27, 2007, addressed to the Governor, the Legal Adviser complained that he had been invited three times to attend the meeting, but each time it was rescheduled for one reason or another. The Legal Adviser revealed that the day the Assistant DO scheduled the long awaited meeting, Chi Mofor was arrested.
"Why would Mr. Chi Mofor be arrested in the hall just when the meeting was to start. Is this a ploy to obstruct him from talking?" asked the Legal Adviser in his protest letter.
Chi Mofor told The Post that the Board was reluctant to go to the disputed land and interview its occupants on who is the rightful owner probably because their lips had been "oiled."
Chi Mofor also expressed dismay that a certain James Chifen Sama, an unknown person in the matter is speaking and acting on behalf of Che Kwatoro.When contacted for comment, the Land Consultative Board Chairman expressed surprise at what Chi Mofor had said. "It is not true. I wonder if he can repeat these accusations in my presence and that of the other Board members"
Carnicius Ndi, Provincial Chief of Land Transport, who attended the April 30 meeting, told The Post that contrary to what Chi Mofor thinks, the Board would soon be descending to the field for fact finding, only after then would a meeting be convened.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 The Post. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
In my experience, journalism is report facts and not gossip or heresies. This article is based on an interview with one person, who claims he's been treated unfairly. Did I miss reading a line which mentioned an interview with the other party? What do they have to say? It is pity that articles like these are published with a conclusive note, when a lack of research is vividly clear.
What are reducing journalism to? Gossip and heresies? It is not about having something to fill up the pages of a newspaper or a webpage, in this case. Neither… [Read Full Text]
In my experience, journalism is report facts and not gossip or heresies. This article is based on an interview with one person, who claims he's been treated unfairly.Did I miss reading a line which mentioned an inerview with the other party. What do they have to say? It is pity that articles like these are published with a conclusive note, when a lack of research is vividly clear.
What are reducing journalism to? Gossip and heresies? It is not about having something to fill up the pages of a newspaper or a webpage, in this case. Neither is… [Read Full Text]