“No Political Party can hold the State hostage”

Donga-Mantung Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) Declares at Installation of “Sacked” SDF Mayors

Messrs Mangoh Jones Tankoh and David Karngong Nfor were finally installed as the Mayors of Nkambe and Ndu Councils on October 10 and 11, 2007 respectively. Both mayors ran and were elected as members of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party, but were later dismissed as members of the SDF by the party’s hierarchy. The installation ceremonies which were performed by the SDO for Donga-Mantung, Mr. Mboki Godlieve Ntua, were therefore carried out amidst controversies arising from a clash of the SDF party laws and the state laws. 

Addressing the crowd that included traditional rulers, Service Heads, and members of the public, the SDO, Mr. Mboki Godlieve Ntua, warned that no political party or individuals can hold the state hostage because of personal ambitions.

The SDO frowned at those who had boycotted the occasion, warning that when these same people will call on him, he may not be sure to lend hem an ear, because he will always question their sincerity in respecting state laws.

Referring to the dismissal from the SDF party of elected mayors of Nkambe and Ndu, the SDO wondered how in this era of democracy, individuals can be sanctioned simply for winning an election.

Presenting the profiles of the two elected mayors in the two separate ceremonies in Nkambe and Ndu, the SDO stated confidently that he had no doubt in his mind that the elected officials will “deliver the goods.”

In an earlier welcome address, the Secretary General of the Council, Miss Ambam Honorine thanked those who had traveled from afar to be part of the occasion. Miss Ambam Honorine said this was evidence of the interest they had in the development of their area. She went on to outline the challenges awaiting the Nkambe Council and concluded her address by listing the various achievements so far recorded by the Nkambe Council.

Also present at the occasion were the Mayors of Ako-Misaje and Ndu Councils, leaders of other political parties like the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) political bureau member, Hon. Tamfu, SDF vanguards and over thirty dance groups.

“Power to the People” Triumphs

At both installations in Nkambe and Ndu Councils, where the two Mayors had been sacked from the SDF for apparently being democratically elected, it is alleged that SDF hierarchy, including the SDF Members of Parliament (MPs) for both constituencies, advised the party’s militants not to come out for the installation ceremonies.

However, the turn out seemed unprecedented. Some observers held that such mass mobilization has not been seen for years in Nkambe and Ndu. In Nkambe, SDF vanguards flooded the grandstand and the ceremonial ground in their uniforms. In Ndu, militants did not come out in party regalia but turned out nonetheless.

Many SDF militants were at a loss regarding the dismissals of elected party officials, wondering aloud what was going wrong in their party, a party that had heralded the call for democracy with the slogan of “Power to the People.” Some openly questioned whether President Paul Biya as head of state has the authority to appoint a mayor. One former District Secretary of Nkambe reminded party militants that in the days when “SDF was still SDF,” she condemned the appointment of Government Delegates by the head of state over elected Councilors and regretted that today the SDF is attempting to appoint mayors.

Invoking the lyrics to a popular song: “You give me power, but you take am back… I be no know sey you go do we so…” in reference to the prevailing situation within the SDF party where the Chairman of the party is quick to seize the power and authority the people had wrestled from the CPDM-State machinery during the multiparty re-awakening of the early nineties. At the end of the day, those who attended the installation ceremonies in Nkambe and Ndu expressed satisfaction that on this day, at least within the SDF, “power to the people” triumphed over autocratic power in Nkambe and Ndu.

Allegations of Attempted Sabotage

The SDF MPs for Donga Mantung, Hon. Mbaya Awudu and Mrs. Esther Ngalla, are alleged to have “quarantined” some of the SDF Councilors in Nkambe to ensure that they did not attend the installation ceremony of Mr. Mangoh Jones Tankoh as mayor of Nkambe. This information was revealed to The Frontier Telegraph by Mayor Mangoh and Madam Florence Beri, a Councilor herself as well as the Divisional Coordinator of the SDF for Donga-Mantung.

It is alleged that the MPs reportedly rushed in to Nkambe on the eve of the installation, and invited all the SDF Councilors to report at Hon. Awudu’s residence. Once there, the Councilors were “taken hostage” and told that SDF Chairman, Mr. John Fru Ndi was on his way to talk to them before they could leave for the ceremonial grounds. They were only released after the occasion was over with the excuse that Mr. John Fru Ndi’s vehicle had a breakdown on his way from Bamenda.