By Njodzeka Kernyuy
Inside an incomplete building opposite the Palapala Field at Bakweri Town, Buea, the Senior Divisional Officer of Fako, Viang Mekala, asked the seven kingmakers of Great Soppo to choose their Chief.
Before that, the two candidates contesting to lead the Second Class Chiefdom—Barrister Henry Ngale Monono and Dr. Absalom Woloa Monono—had stood before the eagerly waiting and cheering crowds.
The seven kingmakers went and stood behind Dr. Woloa Monono, and the room exploded with jubilation.
It was clear who had been chosen, and the Fako SDO again proclaimed, from a typed paper, that Dr. Woloa is now the chief-designate of Great Soppo, urging him to start work immediately.
Following his proclamation, the traditional council moved forward to hand him a staff of authority, which he raised to the chanting crowds in acceptance of the mandate handed to him.
Barrister Ngale’s Camp Protested
Before the proclamation on the afternoon of Tuesday August 4, the SDO had allowed candidates to talk.
Barrister Henry Ngale Monono, one of the contenders, made a motion that the talks should be postponed because the royal family was still mourning the late monarch, HRM Etina Monono, who passed away on May 7.
The SDO, surrounded by Buea Mayor David Mafany Namange to the right and Buea Divisional Officer Abba Adouraman to the left, swept it under the carpet.
“The whole process has been tainted with irregularity and inconsistency,” said Barrister Henry Ngale Monono.
He argued that there were gross violations of the laws that govern the Great Soppo Chiefdom and that the SDO just helped his colleague, Dr Woloa, who is the SDO of Faro in the North Region.
To him, the matter is before the court, and the SDO, as per the court order, was supposed to wait.
He further justified that one of the kingmakers was a woman, which is not in line with the Great Soppo tradition.
“The royal family is supposed to select a Chief and present him to the kingmakers, but that was not respected,” he added.
His camp says the lineage of the designated Chief is doubtful, which makes the designated Chief unqualified.
Chief-designate Pledges Unity
Talking to journalists before embarking on a village tour, Chief-designate Dr. Absalom Woloa Monono said his greatest mission will be to unite all in Great Soppo and to bring peace and development.
“We can’t do that when we are not together. I call on all of them to join hands with me so that together we can make Great Soppo Great,” he said.
He will now rule from the palace in Bakweri Town, as power has now moved from the palace of the late Chief Etina Monono.