Bimbia- Locals accuse adminstration of stalling creation of BICUDA
By Jabi Katy Chale
A planned cultural meeting in Bimbia has ignited fresh controversy between local elites and the Fako divisional administration, with accusations of administrative bottlenecks, alleged bias and continued marginalization of the Bimbia people.
The contention centers around the creation of the Bimbia Cultural and Development Association (BICUDA), a new initiative spearheaded by concerned Bimbia indigenes to promote cultural heritage and mobilize grassroots development. A scheduled meeting on April 26 at the historic Camp Saker site was abruptly banned by the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Fako, Viang Mekala, who warned that the gathering had not been authorized and could pose a threat to public order.
In a letter dated 25 April, addressed to Henry Njalla Quan, one of the driving forces behind BICUDA, the SDO cited non-compliance with legal procedures, particularly the failure to file a declaration for a public meeting at the Limbe III sub-divisional office, and accused the group of pursuing objectives contrary to National Unity. He further warned that activities under the umbrella of BICUDA would be considered unlawful, as the association is not officially recognized.
However, in a detailed rebuttal dated May 1, Mr Henry Njalla Quan pushed back against the accusations, describing the SDO’s intervention as misinformed and politically motivated. He argued the administrative roadblocks were fueled by internal feuds with the Limbe III sub division and alleged conflict of interest involving the Divisional Officer.
“It is no secret that tensions have been high since elites and indigenes voiced their discontent over the arbitrary ceding of the Bimbia slave trade site to a third party, allegedly linked to the DO,” Njalla Quan wrote, maintaing that the gathering was “a simple family gathering amongst the children of Bimbia” and that all the necessary steps had been taken towards legalizing the association.
According to Njalla Quan, the DO of Limbe III explicitly told a BICUDA delegate that the file was being withheld because certain individuals in the group, including himself and the paramount chief of Limbe, were not liked by the administration. What he described as an abuse of administrative power that undermines the impartiality expected of public officials.
He further stressed the need of a development association in Bimbia expressing that Despite its historical significance as the location of Cameroon’s documented slave trade site, Bimbia remains one of the least developed communities in Fako. “Unlike other communities within Fako, Bimbia has no functional development association dedicated towards promoting its culture and contributing towards local development….. It is very discouraging that our attempt to copy positive similar actions, which has yielded fruits in other communities across the country, is being frustrated out of bias and the need to settle personal scores.”
This comes barely months after tensions surfaced over the fate of the Bimbia slave trade site. On January 13, 2025, indigenes staged a peaceful protest following reports that the heritage site was being ceded to a third party without proper consultation with local and community authorities. Months later, the SDO’s letter addressed to Njalla Quan banning the cultural meeting, casually informs that that the request submitted on January 28 2025 for an acknowledgement receipt for the declaration of the BICUDA association, that would enable it operate legally, has been rejected.
The rejection, according to the letter, builds on the grounds that, the association “goes against the policy of national integration and living together”. Yet Njalla Quan and other community members argue that in the three months since their application, they had received no prior communication indicating such grounds for rejection, nor a rejection itself.
