Business activities have resumed fully at Kumba Main Market and other business areas in the city today Wednesday, August 26th 2020, – a day after women who are traders at the Kumba Main Market took to the streets to denounce the sealing of their shops by authorities.
Traditional rulers of the Bafaw community Tuesday August 25th, unlocked their market premises after the disgruntled women stormed the Fon’s palace to table their worry.
The custodians of traditional under the leadership of Paramount ruler emeritus Nfon Victor Mukete took the decision to unseal the shops after consultations with local elected administrative officials of Meme Division.
The protesters mainly women said, sealing their shops was unreasonable. Authorities had accused the traders of sympathising with separatists fighters after they opted to remain indoors on Mondays, a traditional ghost town day in the restive Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
To one of the irate traders “I have been harassed several times by separatist fighters for opening my shop on Monday. That is a risk that I and other traders are not ready to take again.
” The woman adds that beside taking the risk, the town is always empty on Mondays with no buyers and thus concludes that it’s needless to open their shops.
Though the traders applauded the traditional rulers for opening their shops sealed over a week ago by Victor Ngo Nkelle; Mayor of Kumba City council, they have decided not to open their shops on Monday.
The traders want government to take responsibility and negotiate peace once and for all.
At the moment, it remains unclear how the mayor of the city council will react to a contrary decision taken by traditional rulers to open shops he sealed as punishment to traders for respecting ghost town put in place by separatist fighters.
Mimi Mefo Info.
