Following Sub prefectorial decision no 54/2010, suspending Mr. Samuel Ekwalla Njie of his functions as Third Class Chief of Bonadikombo in Limbe I sub division, the Nanyowe family of Bonadikombo has presented stunning documents justifying their claim to the disputed throne.

A letter by David Esombe Nanyowe, member of the Nayowe family to the SDO for Fako says “I have the honour to forward to you documents related to the above subject matter and a detailed sociological, ethological and chronological analysis which will help you better understand the chieftaincy saga and reasons why the Nanyowe family continues to lay claim to the chieftaincy stool in Bonadikombo by protesting against the three past consultation”.

The letter further says the legitimate family tree or the historical ethnological analysis clearly exposes the Nanyowes, Enanges, Eyes, Mokakes etc with their founding father Wonde as the legitimate Royal family of the village, hence, according to David Esombe, the Nayowe family has legitimate claims to the throne of Bonadikombo as per the genealogical tree which ties the descent of each of the chiefs from the family.

Documents dated as far back as 1924, such as the  Cameroon Province Village Assessment Record where the name of  the Chief is Eye Enange (Kwakwave) who hails from the Nayowe genealogical family tree is also included in the over 40-page evidence put before the SDO of Fako.

Meanwhile, speaking to Eden on the form of chieftaincy succession in Bonadikombo, David Essombe Nanyowe, said “in the case of Bonadikombo, from creation, the chieftaincy stool was hereditary within the founding legitimate royal family of Nanyowe.” He went on to say “this phenomenon prevailed through Chief Eye Enange, Ndive Mokake, Naike Mokake, Essombe and the present David Nanyowe Enanga.

Quizzed on the origin of the Njie in the Chieftaincy line of the village, David Nanyowe Essombe said “in 1928 a ‘confutionist’ from a different settler family by name Njie Muanje who was too ambitious took advantage of the sudden death of Chief Essombe and Naike Mokake and auto-proclaimed himself Chief. This is the period when the name Njie came to be linked to the Bonadikombo chieftaincy saga”.

A memorandum of 8 September 1928 from the Divisional Officer of the then Victoria and a subsequent reply from the District head of Victoria on the issue, a copy which Eden procured reads “The death of Chief Eye Enange of Bonadikombo seems not to have been reported by you to the Divisional Officer. Who appointed the man Njie Muanje who now calls himself Chief?”

One of the greatest controversial evidence put forward by the Nanyowe family is that of a transfer of land agreement allegedly signed on 20 June 1956 portraying Nako Njie of the Njie family to have rented a piece of land for 25 years from Paul Wefinge of the Nanyowe family, the land in question, the Nanyowe family says is the present family residence of the Njies

Consultations And Appointments
It should be noted that the saga has witnessed one of the highest consultations and appointments of third class chiefs in Fako Division.

A prefectorial order No 280 of 1980, which took into consideration a letter dated 11 March 1976, abdicating Chief Naike Mokake of Bonadikombo, also appointed Esombe David Naike (Nanyowe family) as third class chief of Bonadikombo.

Nine years later, another prefectorial order No 881/1989, appointed Mondoa Njie Hansel (Njie family) as third class chief of Bonadikombo

In 2001, Minister Ferdinand Koungou Edima forwarded a radio message to SDO for Fako suspending Mondoa Njie Hansel as third class chief of Bonadikombo.

The Ministers instruction was taken to the letter and prefectorial order no 262/2002 repealing Mondoa Hansel Njie as Chief of Bonadikombo, calling for new consultative talks.

Samuel Ekwalla Njie, the son of Hansel Njie, ‘took over’ from his father who by the Minister’s instruction had been suspended, probably why Governor Thomas Ediagge Mbonda’s letter to the SDO for Fako of 3 September 2003 asked the SDO to abrogate his prefectorial order designating Samuel Ekwalla Njie as third class chief of Bonadikombo especially as he (the governor) was not copied.

Several other orders are alleged to have been transmitted between Ministers, Governors, SDO’s and Divisional Officers on the matter.

The final one for now is a Ministerial order no 993/L/MINATD/of 12 May 2010 signed by the Minister of State, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, to the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako and the Governor of the South West which Eden procured.

It reads “I hereby remind you that traditional authorities in this (Bonadikombo) village resides in the Nanyowe Family, I therefore request that you put aside your instructions to the Divisional Officer for Limbe 1 in letter no 169/G.37/D9/3/VOLT of 30/3/2009 on the matter and order fresh consultative talks within the Nanyowe family as instructed to you by the above mentioned letter”.

The reasons for all these, according to  David Esombe Nanyowe is that “the criteria adopted for the past consultations was totally flawed and gotten all wrong, thus the basis of designating the chief of Bonadikombo by the Divisional Officers was faulty from the start and therefore could not match squarely in the traditional procedure to designate the Chief.