SW Regional Assembly President Disavows Chief Ebako’s Criticism of SDO

By Njong Shey

The South West Regional Assembly President, Zacheus Bakoma Elango, has distanced both himself and the institution from recent remarks made by his Vice, Chief Atem Ebako, who called out the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako for “disrespecting” Chiefs.

On May 19, Chief Ebako rebuked the Fako SDO, Viang Mekala, for threatening traditional rulers who failed to attend National Day celebrations on May 20.

Acting in his capacity as House of Chiefs President and Vice President of the Regional Executive Council, Chief Ebako condemned the SDO’s May 15 letter, stating that it disrespected the traditional institution.

He urging him to refrain from issuing such orders.

However, his superior, Regional Assembly President Bakoma Elango, said the matter, if it warranted redress, should have come from him.

“I have repeatedly said that the South West Regional Assembly is a bicameral assembly with two houses: the House of Chiefs and the House of Divisional Representatives. The only interlocutor between the Regional Assembly and the outside world is the President of the Regional Assembly, President of the Regional Executive Council; nothing more, nothing less,” Mr Elango, a former SDO himself, wrote.

“As such,” he added, “the South West Regional Assembly dissociates itself from the content of your letter dated 19th May 2025, addressed to the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako Division.”

Bakoma Elango said he became aware of the correspondence on social media and considered it misrepresentative of the Assembly’s position.

He stressed that only the president is mandated by law to speak on its behalf.

Mr Bakoma Elango further defended the SDO’s position.

“The rationale of the Senior Divisional Officer’s message to Divisional Officers of Fako Division is to remind traditional rulers within his area of jurisdiction of their republican duty and responsibility to participate in the National Day celebrations.

“In your capacity as president of the South West House of Chiefs, you could have added your voice to that of the administrator by urging your colleagues across the region to turn out massively to give our National Day the grandeur it deserves. Unfortunately, by your correspondence, you are combating the global state and collective efforts to bring back normalcy to our beloved region,” he wrote.

To him, the use of the official letter head of the Regional Assembly without his consent on such a sensitive issue is not only misleading but a violation of the law.

“It is no gainsay that since its creation, the South West Regional Assembly has spared no effort to place its own peace-building blocks on a global effort to bring back lasting peace and normalcy in our region. Your letter (which has already gone viral on social media) is very misrepresentative of the South West Regional Assembly,” he concluded.