By Elah Geoffrey Mbongale
There is palpable tension between the Balongs of Muyuka and those of Yoke over land the latter allegedly requested from the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC.
The Balongs of Muyuka are accusing Yoke of asking for land in the heart of Muyuka, knowing fully well that that land belongs to the Muyuka people and that the CDC has never occupied Yoke land.
Yoke is reported to have applied, through their chief, for a layout from Bitter Leaf Quarter, behind the Treasury and Special Branch right up to the old Muyuka burial ground. Land which their rivals claim is Muyuka Balong state land.
Members of the Muyuka Balong Traditional Council have petitioned the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Zang III, calling on him to intervene in the matter which they say might spark a tribal war.
According to a letter addressed to the SDO who is also the Chairman of the Fako Land Consultative Board, the Muyuka Balong Traditional council writes: “Sir. We deem it expedient to draw your attention to the fact that what the Yoke people are doing can escalate into a future conflict…it does not mean because our chief is sick that any village can trespass or encroach into land that rightly belongs to our village.”
Members of the Muyuka Balong traditional council have accused Yoke of persistently trying to influence and convince the CDC Board of Directors to proceed with the land ceding process despite objections by Muyuka Balong since 2013.
In a separate letter addressed to the Divisional Chief of State Property and Land Registrar, Fako, stating their opposition to the land surrender of Black Bush and Bitterleaf quarter to Yoke village, the Muyuka Balong traditional council warned “ the act by Yoke crossing the boundaries and seeking for land surrender within Muyuka territory is an absolute violation and disrespect of our territorial boundaries which cannot be allowed. We cannot stay alive and watch our ancestral land being taken away from us. We are ready to spill blood if that is what it would take and if the government does not intervene on time.”
“Our natural boundary is the river near the former POWER CAM (now Eneo) office and I don’t know why the Yoke people will be asking for land in the heart of Muyuka. Why should they even ask for land from CDC when their land has never been occupied by CDC…Our youths are ready to defend their land, we cannot sit and watch people come from Yoke and settle in the heart of Muyuka” Edward Elobe, one of the Muyuka notables warned.
Ebage Francis, Chairman of the Balong traditional council, Muyuka said: “Yoke and Muyuka are all Balong brothers but with separate boundaries, A person from Muyuka cannot go into Yoke and collect some thing without consulting the Chief of Yoke and vice versa, I don’t why the Yoke people will apply for land in the heart of Muyuka where they know they have no land and don’t even have the courtesy of consulting the people of Muyuka. Even our forefathers could not do that; in the past, before someone can leave a village to another to collect something, a certain traditional procedure was followed but today, people have thrown tradition to the wind and everyone is just doing what they like. We the people of Balong Muyuka cannot fold our arms and watch this happen and we are calling on the administration to arrest this situation urgently before it degenerates.”