Cameroon:Bakweri Clan Decries Rampant Land Sales During Indigenous Peoples’ Day Observance

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

BUEA, Cameroon – The native of the Bakweri clan have expressed their frustration and anger towards the constant sale of their ancestral lands during the 38^th edition of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in Buea on August 9 in Buea, South West Region of Cameroon.

The paramount ruler of Buea Chief Dr Robert Esuka Endeley lamented how their heritage continues to face threats noting that some five eight thousand hectares of land have been taken over. There are an estimated 476 million Indigenous Peoples in the world living across 90 countries. They make up less than 6 per cent of the world's population but account for at least 15 per cent of the poorest.

Chief Dr Robert Esuka Endeley said: “The Cameroon Human Rights Commission, gave us an opportunity for us to start dialogue into the different indigenous problems that we have and if we didn't have this opportunity. I'm sure you would have never known that 58,153 hectares of our land has been taken and so we are glad that we had this opportunity to start discussions about our indigenous problems.”

“What I'm taking back to them is that the authority that was charged by the United Nations and the Government of Cameroon to listen to such problems has heard our call, our cries and is willing to make sure solutions and discussions start towards a permanent solution to these issues.”

Chief Dr Robert Esuka Endeley added: “One of the major highlights of today's event is the ability of children of the Mokpe language, the ability of scholars of the Mokpe language itself to be able to read the Declaration of Human Rights in their language. Other books have been translated, but we've never had this opportunity where our rights are translated into our language for us to read and understand, not in the context of French or English and so it's one of the highlights of today's event.”

The World's Indigenous Day celebrated every year on August 9, seeks to raise awareness of the needs of Indigenous groups. According to the UN, indigenous peoples have sought recognition of their identities and their rights to traditional lands.

This year's celebration in Fako was organized by the Cameroon Human Rights Commission under the theme: "Access to citizenships; a fundamental right for indigenous peoples.

James Mouangue Kobila, Head of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission said: “The main problem the indigenous people face is the land grabbing because the indigenous people are fundamentally attached and they have special relations with their lands. But unfortunately, since their premises are so attractive, there are so many persons, so many people coming around to take their land without their full consent.”

“So that is the main challenge. But you also have a second challenge, the challenge of birth certificates because many indigenous people cannot afford the price to obtain birth certificates or any other civil status certificate. And the third main challenge they face is the challenge of political participation because they are not enough involved in the governance, whether it's local governance or national governance,” James Mouangue Kobila, Head of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission added.

“The message we left to the chiefs is that the chiefs must work for peace. The chiefs are the collaborators of administrative authorities. I've listened to them, they are full, all of them are willing to collaborate fully with the administrative authorities and I encourage them to do so.”