Manyemen chieftaincy: Family heads petition SDO over ‘illegal’ coronation
Manyemen of Upper Balong in Nguti Subdivision, Kupe Muanenguba Division—South West region are in the heat of a chieftaincy crisis. The heads of five families that make up Kingmakers say a certain “Williams Mbue Bisong,” supposedly coronated as chief, is not a native, more so his coronation on August 11, 2024, was done in disregard of orders by the Divisional Officer (DO) for Nguti prohibiting the occasion.
The family heads alleged that Williams Bisong was selected as chief of Manyemen in 2023 by the SDO, Williams Ekema Mungambo without the accordance of established traditional norms. On November 2nd, the family heads led a delegation of villagers to meet the D.O. of Nguti, Etengeneng Kevin Oben, and expressed their disapproval.
“As far as we are concerned, our village does not yet have a new chief,” said Manyemen family heads in a petition to the SDO of Kupe-Muanenguba dated October 7th.
Background of dispute
Following the death in 2022 of Chief Jacob Eben, the former Manyemen ruler, the throne was declared vacant. By the practice under their customs and traditions, the family designates a son as chief and presents him to village kingmakers for vetting before he is presented to the administration. The selection process is carried out by kingmakers selected by the five pillar families. Contrary to this, the family heads opine that the selection was done in the SDO’s office in Bangem, outside Manyemen.
In addition, Mbue Williams is alleged to be born of two nonnatives and his father’s father from a neighboring village. For his coronation, the patriarchs bother about the traditional process. They say the oldest man in the village carried it out instead of the village Chief of Tiger.
In the petition signed by the family heads of Bafene, Nsuk ô Mbi, Njet, Ndong and a representative of Ntimbuk, the Manyemen family heads told the Kupe-Muanenguba SDO, “to review your decision of 23rd November 2023 and allow us to choose our traditional ruler in accordance with our established traditional procedure.”
The delegation of the five families at the meeting with the DO of Nguti was led by Francis Ebenson for Ntimbuk, Stephen Chu Tabi for Bafene, Franklin Sone Bayen for Nsuk ô Mbi, Lawrence Diffang Tabi for Njet, and Ashu Moses Mcmoi Ndi for Ndong.
