Nkwen Fon condemns arson of Bamenda III Council hall as ‘anti-development’

The Fon of Nkwen, HRH Azehfor III, has condemned the burning of the Bamenda III Council hall. The Traditional Ruler, of one of the three dominant ethnic groups that make up the city of Bamenda, condemned the arson of Bamenda III Council hall in strong terms, stating that the attack was “anti-development” in nature. ,

The Fon was among the authorities who visited the Bamenda Council building this morning after unknown arsonists attacked and burned down the Council hall last night.

“This is more than the word terrible—that we come to destroy what the state has put in place to serve the community,” Fon Azehfor III regretted.

“It’s very bad, and we condemn it in strong terms. The Council is doing a lot for the community, and we cannot construct, destroy, and rebuild again. That’s a waste of resources that could be channelled elsewhere to better the lives of the people,” the Fon said.

He also appreciated the population for coming out in their numbers to prevent the fire from spreading to the other structures.

He invited them to stand up like one man and protect their council from invaders.

The Mayor of Bamenda III, Fongu Cletus Tanwie, said the inferno destroyed the whole ceremonial hall and everything inside, including chairs and the ‘beautiful roof.’

“All the ceremonial chairs, the beautiful roof, the electrical system, and the electricity generator set are all gone,” Mayor Fongu cried.

The attackers, whose identity is yet unknown, stormed the Bamenda III Council at about 12 a.m. on Saturday, September 29, setting the just-renovated and well-equipped ceremonial hall on fire.

Residents of the area said they heard heavy gunshots before the building went into flames. Security agents guarding the structure took to their heels before alerting the mayor.

Bamenda III Council is the only council in the North West Region under the control of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party.

Council activities not affected.

Mayor Fongu Cletus reassured users of Council services that all is being done to ensure the institution continues to function, despite the arson attack on Saturday morning.

He was speaking shortly after visiting the burned ceremonial hall that was recently renovated.

“We are already taking measures to ensure that council activities are not perturbed in any way because the the arson attack. The incident will not affect the functioning of the council. We are doing all we can to ensure a smooth resumption of council activities,” Mayor Fongu said.

To prevent further attacks on the Bamenda III Council premises, the mayor said a project is being designed to construct a fence around the company.

Other security measures to preempt such attacks will also be implemented. Authorities have promised to carry out investigations to apprehend perpetrators of the act, MMI learned.