Bali Warriors Burn Fon's Palace, 50 Other Houses

By Chris Mbunwe

An estimated crowd of about 500 youths from Bali Nyongha in Bali Subdivision of the Northwest Province on Saturday, March 3, invaded Bawock, a neighbouring village and burnt down over 50 houses.

With sharp machetes, hectares of crops like plantains and coffee along the Bali-Bawock highway were brought down with arrogant impunity.

Bawock Fon's wife, Henriette Nkwamo, told The Post that on the evening of Saturday, March 3, at about 5 pm, they were informed that some nine men of the Bali "Ngumba" that was heading to Mantum quarter decided to divert and enter the Bawock Palace without authorisation.

Since the Bawock Fon, Theodore Wanda, was not in the Palace, one retired policeman Peter Limen, whose residence is at the entrance of the Palace, decided to block the Ngumba.

But the Bali invaders pounced on him and alerted the other Ngumba people who were already arriving at Mantum to come back claiming that their Ngumba bag had been seized.

In the scuffle that ensued, a pastor of the Presbyterian Church Bawock, Rev. Ignatius Ngongeh, whose church and residence is also close to the Bawock Palace, rushed to the scene to preach peace and rescue his neighbour Limen.

"But as soon as I got there, I only succeeded in taking Limen who is my Parish Chairman. When they discovered that Pa Limen had escaped through the ceiling of my house, the mob fell on me and got me well beaten.

Thanks to some Christians who came to my rescue," Rev. Ngongeh narrated. He said the Bali warriors proceeded to the Palace, chanting war songs known as "Voma".

Extensive destruction started with the bamboo fence into the Palace and in the inner chambers the invaders looted and set ablaze the sitting room with TVs, chairs and other
artefacts that included the Fon's throne. 

The damage in the Palace was extended to where the Fon's wives and children live. The latter were chased away before the warriors set the houses ablaze.

Recounting her sorrows, another wife of Fon Wanda, Mirable Nkwano said: "We are refugees because all my dresses and those of the children were burnt. That same night they wanted to kill us and we escaped and slept at the church hall."

At about midnight, on Saturday, the youths of Mantum who are of Bali origin, began destroying houses on boundary with Bawock. The affected people fled into coffee farms and nearby bushes for safety.

The quarters most affected by massive destruction of property include Nitap where 12 houses were razed, Fomnjoh quarter and Douala quarter.

Victims

Limen, who was severely beaten and his car smashed is responding to treatment at the Bamenda Provincial Hospital. 
A provision store estimated at FCFA 10 million belonging to one Christopher Nono was burnt to ashes. Some FCFA 350,000 and two motorcycles were reportedly burnt in the store.

Another trader, Francis Biandas, was dragged out of his car and beaten, before his car was set ablaze.  Jacob Yimi lost 150 bags of Robusta coffee in the flames.

The headmaster of Government School Bawock, Philip Ngaso, was helpless as flames engulfed a two-apartment building. 

Others who suffered immeasurable damage of their property include, Ms. Cecilia Jam, Mrs. Genevieve Tanyi and Joseph Nyewa.

The Mezam SDO, Marcelin Jules Ndjaga, and the DO for Bali, Daniel Ngembane Ekolle, who went around Bawock, expressed indignation and described the act as barbaric and inhuman.

The administrators promised to track down all the criminals involved in the destruction.  At about 3 pm on Sunday, March 4, five Bali youths suspected to have been part of the 500-man crowd were arrested at Bawock in the presence of the SDO and were whisked off to Bamenda by gendarmes.

It would be recalled that last December 6, violence erupted in Bali Nyongha, following attempts by the Mezam administration to demarcate the boundary between Bawock in Bali Subdivision and Mbuh village and Pinyin in Santa Subdivision.

When the delegation from Bamenda Provincial Service of Lands led by the Mezam administration arrived at the disputed area in Bawock, they were surprised that tension was brewing among the Balis who were not invited to the locus.

Before the team from Bamenda could set to work, the irate Bali population who claim that they have a shrine in the disputed area, descended on the administrators and gendarmes with clubs, stones and sticks. 

The pillars and billboards meant to demarcate the land including two vehicles were all smashed.Contacted by phone, the Fon of Bali, Fon Ganyongha III, said he hadn't been to the scene yet but that his people were provoked.

He said he was informed that the Bawock people seized a juju called "Voma" and destroyed it, incurring the wrath of his people. Fon Ganyongha III said he has been appealing to his subjects to be reasonable.

Bali people say that they gave Bawock people a piece of land to settle before independence and that today the Bawocks cannot claim to be landlords in Bali.

Talking to The Post, the President General of the Northwest Fons Union, NOWEFU, Fon Chafah, condemned the use of force by any village to settle problems.

"This situation is unfortunate and the whole of this Sunday I tried in vain to get to my colleague of Bali Ganyongha. I succeeded only in getting across to the Fon of Bawock who told me he is in Bafoussam and that his palace has been burnt."

"I am travelling this Sunday night to Bamenda to be in Bawock and Bali so that I assess the situation myself," said Chafah.

The scenario in Bawock today is similar to what Balikumbat did to Bafanji village some eight years ago.

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Comments

[Massa_talk_true]

Most people don’t want to see the truth. If this is the payment that Bawcok are paying back to Bali then I doubt if any tribe will ever like to accept any group of people who are in dying need of help or seeking refuge
Bawock were running away from genocide that were mounted by French led forces ”gendarme” in their Bamelike land and seek refuge in Bali Nyonga now they want to used Bamelike sense and claim land simply because they can buy the corrupt la Republique appointed administration, VITO u said it all, though people don’t want to see the true facts.
This is a very highly plan technique initiated by the administration to infiltrate into Southern Cameroon and destabilized it from achieving their objection. SC be wise
Rexon
The Fon of Bawock with an interviewed he granted to le messager sounded his trumpet that Bali don’t have any right to attacked any village from Western Province and called on the Bamelike chief to intervene.
Rexon what does that imply?
This frog are having hiding agenda in SC which will soon come into light, let wait and see. I am pleading on all in this forum to be very objective and sensitive when issued like this show up

[Ma Mary]

Interesting, Massa_talk_true. Where does His Majesty The Fon of Bali stand? Is he a Southern Cameroonian or a CPDM operative? Last time I learned he is in the CPDM Central Committee. Whose larger interest is this act serving? Whose interest does prolonged conflict between the Bamileke and the Bali serve?

[Muki StoneHall]

Ma Mary
Very good question.Thats a question, Vito,Big Joe and Massa_talk_true should answer.They claim the Bawock people are the ones bribing the administration.But he's their fon, a CPDM CC stooge.Now he's already brandishing Bawock people as SDF sympathisers.So who's bribing the administration?