By Andrew Nsoseka
Cameroon’s Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, has cancelled two controversial land certificates that had been used by a group of individuals to claim ownership of land belonging to local residents in Ewonda, a village in Buea, Fako Division of Cameroon’s Southwest region. The fraudulent actors were attempting to create a settlement referred to as Lower Ewonda.
The decision was announced in an official ministerial order issued in Yaoundé on March 4, 2026, declaring Land Certificates No. 016325 and 016331/Fako null and void.
In a letter addressed to representatives of the Lower Ewonda Village Community, the minister stated that the decision followed a petition and investigations which uncovered serious irregularities in the process that led to the issuance of the titles.
“I have the honor to inform you that, by Order of this day, Land Certificates No. 016325 and 016331/Fako have been declared null and void, in keeping with the provisions of Article 27 of Decree No. 76-165 of 27th April 1976,” the minister wrote.
The decree cited by the minister lays down the conditions for obtaining land certificates in Cameroon and provides the legal framework for cancelling titles obtained through irregular means.
According to the ministerial order, the land titles were initially issued in favor of individuals who sought to establish a new settlement called Lower Ewonda on land that belonged to private individuals and members of the local community.
However, investigations conducted by the Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure revealed that the certificates had been obtained through administrative error and fraud.
The ministerial document states that irregularities occurred during the process that led to the issuance of the certificates, particularly in the interpretation and execution of a legal decision from the Court of First Instance in Buea.
Authorities also found that the beneficiaries of the land certificates had engaged in actions aimed at legitimizing their claim to the land.
The order specifically noted what it described as “inappropriate appropriation of third parties’ developments” by the beneficiaries in order to justify the procedure that led to the issuance of the certificates, thereby misleading the administration.
The dispute was brought to the attention of the ministry through a petition submitted by Barrister Nyonbadmia Evine, acting on behalf of Joseph Mokake Luma and other affected landowners, who challenged the legality of the titles and requested that they be withdrawn.
Following the complaint, the minister instructed officials from the ministry to conduct an investigative mission in Buea in May 2025. The findings of the inquiry, alongside reports from the Regional Delegation of the Ministry in the Southwest Region and other supporting documents, provided the basis for the minister’s decision.
The minister reaffirmed that the land titles could not stand once the irregularities had been established.
“Land Certificates No. 016325 and 016331/Fako are hereby declared null and void,” the ministerial order stated.
The decision also stipulates that the parcels of land previously covered by the cancelled certificates will revert to their original legal status.
According to the order, “the parcels of land initially covered by Land Certificates No. 016325 and 016331/Fako regain their original juristic nature of national land.”
The minister further instructed the relevant administrative authorities in Fako Division to implement the decision.
Specifically, the Divisional Chief of Service for Surveys and the Land Registrar for Fako have been tasked with ensuring the application of the ministerial order, including its registration and publication where necessary.
The cancellation effectively dismantles the legal foundation upon which the proposed Lower Ewonda settlement had been established.
For local landowners who had contested the move, the decision represents a major victory in their fight to protect their land from what they described as an attempt to appropriate private property under the guise of creating a new village community.
Land disputes remain common in Cameroon, particularly in rapidly developing areas such as Buea and other parts of Fako Division, where competing claims over land ownership frequently lead to legal battles.