By Andrew Nsoseka
Gendarmerie officers from the Buea Brigade reportedly stormed Ewonda village in Buea Subdivision on October 13, 2026, arresting several youths accused of trespassing on farms and plots they say their families have owned and cultivated for generations.
The arrests are the latest development in a long-running land dispute pitting Ewonda residents against Paul Molua Tonga, who claims to be the chief of the controversial Lower Ewonda village, created a few years ago.
According to sources, those arrested were later taken to the Southwest Human Rights Office, where the Buea Divisional Officer (DO), who was reportedly contacted over the incident, was asked to explain the circumstances surrounding the arrests.
The victims said the DO denied ordering their arrest, explaining that he only wanted to speak with them. They further alleged that they were asked to sign an undertaking, which they refused to do.
Residents claim the arrests and other forms of intimidation often occur at the behest of the purported Lower Ewonda chief, whom they accuse of using administrative backing to interfere with their farming activities. They say they have endured repeated harassment, arrests and disturbances on land their families have occupied for decades.
The latest incident comes amid unresolved questions over the creation and recognition of Lower Ewonda, which residents and traditional authorities have challenged as historically illegitimate.
An investigation published by The Post on October 12 reported that archival gazettes from 1963 and 1968 referred to Ewonda as a single village, while the Buea Chiefs Conference had rejected claims that Lower Ewonda existed as a separate traditional entity.
The dispute escalated after land certificates were issued over parcels occupied by Ewonda families. On April 10, 2025, the Buea Court of First Instance suspended a regional order underpinning the contested arrangement, after a site visit found that residents were in effective occupation of the land.
In a further development, the Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, on March 4, 2026, declared Land Certificates No. 016325 and 016331/Fako null and void, citing administrative error and fraud. Together with seven other titles reportedly cancelled in November 2025, nine land certificates linked to Lower Ewonda have now been voided.
However, residents say the decisions have done little to end the tensions on the ground. In the earlier report, farmers described being driven from their plots by men accompanied by dogs, leaving some unable to harvest crops used to support their families and pay school fees.
The latest arrests have renewed fears among villagers that the dispute is being enforced through intimidation despite the court order and ministerial decisions.
Residents are calling for the authorities to protect their rights, stop further harassment and ensure that the decisions affecting the contested land are respected.