Douala: Kamto evicts over 200 people from land

Over 200 persons were forcefully evicted from a 702m² parcel of land in Bonabo in the Douala 5 sub-division on October 24, 2023, by an individual who presented himself as Kamto Markel Robert, the rightful owner of the land, brandishing documents.

An expulsion came unexpectedly to the occupants who described injustice and claimed they were in possession of land certificates.

“We got up only to notice caterpillars stationed at the road with police and Douala City Council Police in their numbers. I went and told my mother who since 2016 has been in court with the said Kamto but she said she was not sure they came for them. Everyone here was shocked because the matter is still in court and we were to meet at the Court of Appeal in Bonanjo on November 28.” A victim, Clemence said.

According to victims, the said business guru had been a thorn in their flesh for over 20 years.

Corruption and injustice, they say is very chronic in Cameroon, with the wealthy ones encouraged to trample on the rights of the underprivileged citizens.

“The D.O., Police officials, and the Douala City Council Police were here last Friday and we came out protesting. The attention of Six representatives was needed by the judicial police in Bonanjo. They went and were interrogated and later locked up. My mother called her lawyer who assembled all the required documents before she was released. Those who did not have were kept there for days and only released on Monday evening. Early the next day they came and demolished our houses”. Clemence further explained.

Hermann Ghomsi, a representative of the said businessman, told CNA “The demolition is the result of a court case that existed for years. We understand the pain of the people, but we also suffered over this case. We have documents of this land dating over 30 years. You can be occupying someone’s land, illegally sold to you and when the right owner comes, justice favors him. We allowed the land vacant around the 1980s and quarter heads sold pieces to the victims with certificates signed at Gendarmerie brigades and police stations. It’s quite unfortunate. We are here to have the land back for business purposes.”

Helpless victims, refused police orders to leave the site, throwing insults at the police officials and asking where they expected them to go.