Lebialem: Mayor Nicasius Nkemasong says peace is returning to Menji

Nearly six years since the headquarters of Lebialem Division, Menji, became deserted due to armed conflict, the town’s Mayor Nicasius Nkemasong has said peace is returning to the area.

He said in an interview with CRTV that the peaceful conduct of Senatorial Elections in Menji on Sunday is proof of the return of peace in the town that was considered a dead end few years back.

Mayor Nkemasong said 102 Councillors from the three Municipal Councils in Lebialem were in Menji yesterday to vote.

“It is a clear indication that life in Menji is coming back to normal,” he said.

Menji, the headquarters of Fontem Subdivision and capital of Lebialem Division, has, during the past years of the Anglophone Crisis, been ungovernable.

Since 2018, a Separatist group called the Red Dragons has launched attacks on the town, causing the closure of government services and displacement of the local population.

But in August 2022, the leader of the group, a once dreaded separatist commander Oliver Lekeaka was killed, greatly weakening separatist activities in Lebialem.

Menji Subdivision has been among the worst affected in the conflict hitting the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon.

By Tata Mbunwe