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53 Chapter Three: A History of Bambili/Babanki-Tungoh and the Genesis of the Boundary With this, it is clear that the Fon owns the land and leases or distributes it to his subjects. In the event of border conflict, it is logical that his subjects will come out to defend the boundary, firstly because the Fon is looked up to as the “hope” of the tribe. However, since the 1950’s the boundary conflict between these two villages has manifested itself in various ways. E)The Manifestation of the Boundary Conflict c. 1950 -1955: The epoch of Law Suits The boundary conflict was manifested in three principal ways: from c.1950 to 1958 it was mainly in law suits filed by the contestants; from 1958 to 1973, when it led to the signing of the Babanki-Tungoh and Bambili entente. This second period can be called the “thaw” in the boundary manifestation. The last period was from 1973 to 1995. This period was characterised by skirmishes, threats, suspicion and outright warfare. It ended in 1995 with yet another law suit. The Bambili people brought a suit against the Babanki-Tungoh people in the Bafut native court, Civil Suit N°23/53. As already mentioned, this claim was made over a piece of land bordering the Bambili-Babanki-Tungoh. The court judgment of December 11, 1953, situated the boundary on the hills on the West side of the outlet of the lake and valley. The court granted Bambili part of the land which the Bambili had claimed. This land stretched from the German boundary of Babanki-Tungoh with Medankwe at “Kukets”, to the hills west of the lake and valley. The Bambili were not, however, satisfied with the decision. As a result of this, they appealed and in its judgment of July 15, 1955, the Appeals Court shifted the line to the high grazing land near to the escarpment beyond which is Bambili village. Yet, they were still not satisfied and called for a review by the Colonial District Officer. On September 8, 1956, the Assistant Divisional Officer Ward, rendered his review judgment. According to Ward, the boundary began: “At the very high peak at the boundary with Babulue into the Tuentueng stream. It will follow streams in the same general direction until it reaches the cattle trace near markets ruga. There a cairn will be erected and the boundary will go in a straight line to the raffia bush on the stream that comes across the main road just beyond mile 13”28 . 54 Sons and Daughters of the Soil Ward’s review judgment came close to giving Bambili most of their claim. He went on to add:”. . . Anybody from either village, who now finds himself on land not owned by his own people, will have the choice of moving to his own village land or staying where he is and paying tax to the next village. If he chooses to do the latter he will be permitted to stay and farm. Persons who choose to move must do so before January 1, 1957. This will give them time to harvest their crops . . . .”29 What pushed Ward to arrive at this was that he doubted whether the boundary between Bambili and Babanki-Tungoh had ever been defined. He made this clear when he said: . . . in my [his] opinion correctly, I do not think that the boundary had ever been defined between the parties. It is my opinion that the decisions of the court of first instance and the appeal court were no more than attempts to arbitrate. They both failed because they chose an unsuitable and artificial line. It is my intention to create a more suitable natural boundary30 . His judgment appeared one sided as although many Babanki Tungoh people were to be affected, no single Bambili person was required to make the choice. It is practical commonsense that in these days one will not expect a large number of people who have lived on a piece of land for a very long time without interference, to suddenly pack up and to move leaving their stock and land. In any case he was only attempting to provide a solution to the boundary conflict. In an attempt to “create a more suitable natural boundary” Ward aroused the disgruntleness of the Babanki-Tungoh people. It was as a result of this discontent that the indigenes of BabankiTungoh asked for a review. On May 15, 1958, A. B. Westmacott, Colonial resident in...

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