The newly voted President of the Buea Chiefs Conference, HRM Ikome Philip Mokwa, has called on his peers to encourage their subjects to exercise their civil and political rights by voting in the upcoming Presidential election.
Chief Ikome Philip of Wokeka village in the Muea Court Area was voted to lead a 19-member executive committee that will manage the affairs of the conference for the next three years.
In an interview granted at the event in Buea on June 18, Chief Ikome, who is a prison officer, said Chiefs should “do everything possible that their people should vote” during the upcoming election.
“As Chiefs we have a great role to play within this election. And as I read in my speech, we have to ensure that there’s total peace and serenity in our communities. We will work in hand with the administration to ensure that the election goes hitch-free,” he said.
His talk of serenity is predicated on the ongoing armed conflict in the South West and North West regions, where separatists have violently disrupted previous elections.
In September 2023, Buea Chiefs took a bold step to pour libations across the city and publicly denounce separatists in the Subdivision.
Separatists have targeted several Chiefs in the Subdivision, accusing them of leaning towards the Yaounde administration against their cause.
The Chiefs, often referred to as “auxilliaries of administration”, have not hidden their support for the Biya regime, which has ruled Cameroon for 42 yeara.
Chiefs in Buea were among members of the South West Chiefs Conference (SWECC) which called on the long-serving President Paul Biya to be a candidate in the upcoming polls.
They said he was the Chiefs’ choice and asked Biya to launch his presidential campaign in Buea—a declaration which some observers said betrayed the expected neutrality of traditional rulers from partisan politics.
However, Chief Ikome Philip did not point out who people should vote for in the upcoming election in his June 18 statement, but encouraged a massive voter turnout.
He takes over the Buea Chiefs Conference Presidency from HRM Eko Nganje, traditional ruler of Bokoko village, who occupied the post for three years.
The incoming President said he will spearhead infrastructural projects in the association.
“When we look at the Buea Chiefs Conference, we don’t have a hall of ours. And we are going to make sure that we have one. And we therefore call on their administration to help us make this dream come true,” he said.
He added that his executive committee are going to look into chieftaincy disputes and land-grabbing issues plaguing the Buea Subdivision, where Chiefs are often accused of double selling land.
