Mbengwi; Rumours Send Inhabitants Packing Out

Mbengwi; Rumours Send Inhabitants Packing Out

If history is anything to go by, then memories of the pre-20th May 2018 atmosphere in Mbengwi are still fresh in mind. Rumours of an imminent attack to destabilise National Day celebrations sent more than half of the population parking out. However, nothing ever really happened as was feared and days after, the runaways returned.

History has again repeated itself with an upgraded version this time around. Saturday 4th May 2018, Mbon motor park, Mile 18, the economic hub of the Sub Division is as busy as a beehive. Something extraordinary is happening. It's not the usual daily hustle and bustle. Instead, people are fleeing with almost everybody looking panick stricken. I stood at the Mbon motor park and  watched the unfolding drama. A mass exodus of the Divisional Headquarters was ongoing. Hundreds of persons were seen scrambling for a seat in any cab that appeared at Mbon from Bamenda. The transport fare was doubled from 500 to 1000 yet they fought to pay. Men, women and children with travelling bags, boxes, mattresses and food were seen in a mad rush either to Bamenda or to interior villages. Even a cargo truck meant for the transportation of goods only was seen transporting passengers to Bamenda.

Access into Bome zone, Medig zone, Lower Medig zone, Gutah zone of the Meta clan has been  hampered with the falling down of huge tree trunks by the pro Ambazonia independence fighters, reported to be in their hundreds now in the sub division. The Bome zone has for the past days been under black outs after trees that were intentionally being fallen by the fighters to block roads accidentally cut a high tension cable.

The day before, precisely Friday August 3rd, the town was shut down in the afternoon after sounds of gun shots were heard from Mile 19. The next day, Saturday,  findings showed that two civilians were killed in the exchange. A certain Enoh Tanjong in Mile 20 said to be a tipper driver was allegedly pulled out of his house and shot to death. Information has it that he was named after the then Governor of North West Province,  Enoh Tanjong now Member of Parliament  came on a working visit to the Mbengwi District hospital in the 70s and coincidentally, he was put to birth same time.

The second killed was a certain Tah Elvis, a bike ridder by profession. Both were hurriedly  buried immediately after which mourners dispersed back home. There wasn't anytime to eat and drink, a traditional way of "celebrating" the dead.

Rumours had flown around Mbengwi that people should evacuate the town because the pro Ambazonia  independence fighters were to engage the government forces for a  serious exchange.  This explains why on Saturday, the town experienced mass exodus.

Same day, there was a mass influx of the Mbororos from Mbengwi and other neighbouring areas into Mbonguh, Touochup where unconfirmed reports said one "Aladji" and his son were killed by thieves. The Mbororos stormed the locality to bury their colleagues and hunt the assailants who are at large.

Incredible but real. Just like a cargo truck that transported IDPs from Mbengwi to Bamenda, it was a tipper that transported close to thirty Internally Displaced Persons from G.R.A Mbengwi to Bessi Fomukong, a village located about some 4km from the central town. It was interesting to see even a dog being carried out of the tipper. The "passengers" alighted at the Kwe weekly market in  the host village from where many still continued with their loads of mattresses, beds, boxes and kitchen items on their heads deeper into the bush where their homesteads had been abandoned for greener pastures. From every indications, all hitherto abandoned houses in the suburbs have now been occupied. It's a movement from grace to grass.

Charlie is one of the Mbengwi Council workers. Like his colleagues that have also relocated from Mbengwi to the hinterlands, he was amongst those who alighted from the tipper and mustered the courage to speak for many didn't even want to be caught on camera. As to why they were running away, he said "We are running from Mbengwi and going to the interior because of too much gunshots yesterday. They almost shot my my child. So I've decided to go to the bush. I can no longer stay again in town because there's no way. I shall now be doing hunting and fishing. The whole town yesterday was darkened with armed forces. I don't know if they are for us or against us. My children were crying the whole day because of the gunshots. So I've decided to take them to the bush from where we shall be observing how the atmosphere will look like before we can return".

At press time, no firing exchange went on as was anticipated. But the worry is who will be first to go back and test the ground before others can return? The climate too hasn't been favourable. Its been raining cats and dog. Hopefully, as the adage goes the flies of a tailess cow are driven away by God.

With the current situation, it's of utmost importance to caution the masses to stay away from battle grounds, to lie on the floor in case of a fire exchange and to escape into the bushes in case of unbearable danger. We must continue mounting more pressure on the government and armed fighters to ground their arms and get to the negotiating table for the sake of the population they claim to protect.