Touembeng, Mbengwi; Mbororos Pounce on their Meta Brothers, Blood Flows, Village Deserted

Touembeng, Mbengwi; Mbororos Pounce on their Meta Brothers, Blood Flows, Village Deserted

Touembeng otherwise called Mbengeghang, located about some 8km away from the town of Mbengwi is one of the quarters that make up Guneku, the biggest village in the Meta clan of Mbengwi Central Sub Division. Its hilly nature and vast evergreen vegetation attracts the Mbororos who by nature are grazers. History has it that the place was long inhabited by the Metas before the nomads later came in. Since then, they had been living together in conviviality though with minute differences not until last Wednesday October 17 2018 when forces of darkness descended on the Mbororos.

Mr. Fokwah Eric is one of the victims of the attack. Narrating what happened, he explained that on that fateful day the indigenes were going about their daily life of farming and business when out of a sudden, they noticed a good number of angry looking Mbororo boys moving towards them, some on horsebacks. They were armed with sticks, swords and locally fabricated guns. Accusing the Metas of killing one of their boys, they pounced on them with the sticks and swords, wiping and inflicting wounds on their bodies. "I had a small provision store. They scattered all the items in it and carried some away. They burnt my motorbike." This he said while shaking his head almost in tears. Eric went ahead to narrate that he was fathering a huge family of 27 members, most of whom were Internally Displaced Persons that came in from the South West Region. At moment, he doesn't know their whereabout since everybody had to escape to various directions for safety. The attackers break into all the houses and scattered their contents. He said he recognised all of them. Some came in from Tugi, Dom and other Mbororo inhabited areas of Meta to join their colleagues of Touembeng to carry out the attack.

Mr. Fokwah Eric, Victim

He was speaking to this reporter from a health facility whose location he requested not to be revealed. It is here that he is receiving treatment for the several machete cuts he  sustained on his head. Speaking on basis of anonymity, the lone nurse in the facility attending to some of the victims said the five cases that came to her had very deep wounds. So she had to do three layers of stitching as a temporal measure. Though free from danger, she plans to refer them to a bigger hospital for scanning especially those who had wounds on their heads when the pains subside.

Mr. Ndingwan Primus, Guneku Traditional Council Chairman

Mr. Ndingwan Primus is the Chairman of the Guneku Traditional Council. He said when he got the news that his people had been attacked, he immediately contacted the Ardo (Muslim leader) of Touembeng, a certain El-Haji Manu for first hand information on what transpired but unfortunately, he babbled with his words though assuring him that he's seeking for quick reconciliation so that peace returns. "The destruction level is high. With houses burnt, machines and generators burnt, food destroyed, I wonder how the peace will come about. I wonder if he will provide back all what's been damaged" said the chairman. We took them as our brothers. They form part of the population of Guneku. Look at what they did to us". He ended by saying an emergency council meeting has been called to look into the problem.

Mrs. Constance Ngwe, Victim

From findings, secessionist fighters of the Ambazonia Defence Force picked up one of the Mbororo boys from the area whom they tagged as a black leg to the struggle, took him to Mundum in Bafut Sub Division and killed. In retaliation, the Mbororos had to attack the Metas of the area whom they accused to have connived with the separatist fighters. A total of 12 persons were injured in the attack but no death recorded. They are receiving treatment in different health facilities. The area has been completely deserted by the Meta indigenes who are now seeking refuge in neighbouring villages like Munam, Sang and Bessi Fomukong.  The Mbororos up the hills are reported to be in discord now among themselves because many had objected to any such attack. Latest reports say bike riders that used to carry food like corn, rice, flower from Njindom and Mbengwi to the Mbororos on the Touembeng hills have stopped doing so again as a sign of solidarity with the victims. The Mbororos too can't come down for fear of a retaliatory attack. The wish of many now is that the issue be amicably resolved as fast as possible so that peace returns. With the traditional council and leaders of the Mbororos meeting soon, there's hope for a better tomorrow.