Limbe Chieftaincy Tussle: Prince Jesco Seeks MINATD Endorsement

By Innocent Timbong from the Eden Newspaper. view original post here

Monday, 14 January 2008 11:19

The smoldering Limbe chieftaincy crisis has resurfaced, sparking renewed wrangling amongst pretenders to the vacant throne. The latest tensions come following a letter addressed to MINATD by Prince Jesco Manga Williams, the elder brother to the deceased chief. Jesco claims he has been chosen by his family as the successor with the backing of the Fako Coastal Chiefs Association. Prior to Prince Jesco’s unilateral lifting of the crown, the Secretary to the Coastal Chiefs Association, Chief Samuel Ekum of Dikolo village, had issued an ultimatum early December, to the effect that the Mange Williams family produce a chief for Limbe latest 31 December 2007. Prince Jesco’s onslaught received objections within and out of his family. Samuel Manga Williams, eldest son of the late chief described Jesco’s declaration as a bluff. Samuel challenged Jesco’s claims, making reference to his age, and emphasising his position as eldest son of the late Chief Ferguson Manga Williams. He said the chieftaincy in Limbe was not a Manga William’s monopoly. He quoted the 1960 Billing’s report which recognised three ruling houses in Limbe, they are the Manga William’s family, the Carr and the Mokeba families. Meanwhile, following the demise of the chief of Limbe, several candidates noticeable emerged as front-runners. It is reported that Chief Ferguson Manga Williams willed his throne to Henry Njalla Quan, son to his late sister. Upon publication of the will, a copy deposited with the Fako SDO, Prince Jesco Manga Williams, uncle to Njalla Quan, challenged the will in court. However, members of the royal traditional council pointed out that the deceased chief had no veto powers over the choice of his successor. Prince Samuel Ewudo Manga Williams is also laying claim to the throne, basing his argument on the premise that he is the eldest son of the late chief. David Nanja Carr has also stalked his claim for the throne, calling on the Manga Williams family to support his candidature, as his uncle late Hon Lifio Carr stepped aside and backed the Manga Williams in 1960. David Nanja claims he has the support of Princess Mokeba, whose eligible males are said to be overseas. Other names mentioned include, Prince Johnny Manga Williams and Makaka Williams, sons of Prince Jesco aged 86. Outside claims have also come from the chief of Bomboko and Botaland. Most of the claims have been judged inappropriate by traditionalists. According to some, succession in Bakweri land is paternal and not matrilineal. Thus the chief must be a male offspring of the concerned chiefs. However, opponents to this view say Victoria aka Limbe, cannot be considered within the aforementioned parameters because Limbe is a settlement. They point out that even strangers had been chiefs in Limbe before the delimitation by the 1960 Billings Report. Other aspects militating against the plethora of mentioned candidates, traditionalist hold, is the fact that many cannot speak Bakweri and are ignorant of the sacred cults of the land. The administration has played a neutral role so far. The Fako SDO, Bernard Okalia Bilai has thrown the ball to the natives to select their chief and present to the administration, for forwarding to Yaounde. The ultimatum by Chief Ekum to the Manga Williams family has also come under sharp indictment by the contestants. According to them the coastal chiefs lack the competence to meddle in the selection of first class chiefs. view original post here

Prince Jesco Manga New Limbe Paramount Chief

By Francis Tim Mbom (Monday, 19 February 2007) from the Up Station Mountain Club newspaper

Prince Jesco Manga Williams has been designated the new Paramount Chief of Limbe after a family meeting at his Sapper Road residence, on Saturday, February 17. Jesco, 86, replaces Ferguson Billa Manga Williams who died in July, 2005.

The late Billa Manga was a younger brother to Prince Jesco and since his death, the Limbe throne had been mired in controversy as to who takes over.

As to how Billa Manga became Chief, Jesco said in 1959, when his father who was the then Paramount Chief died, he was studying in London. When he was called home, he could not come because of his studies. So he decided that his younger brother be made the Paramount Chief.

Going back to the controversy over inheriting the throne, The Post gathered that late Chief Billa Manga had willed the throne to the General Manager of CDC, Henry Njalla Quan, Jesco's nephew. But Jesco said that the "will was forged."

He said if they had to observe the will, many things would have been put into question. He had challenged the will at the Buea High Court. But the matter, Jesco said, was quashed on grounds that there was no substantive matter before on which his challenge was based.

Besides Jesco's claim to the throne, David Najia Carr of the Nanjia Carr Ovassee family at New Town was the first to lodge his claim to the throne, barely three weeks after Ferguson died.

Carr was seeking to be given "recognition and enthronement as the new Paramount Chief of Limbe."The head of the David Nanjia Carr Ovasse family, Carr had based his claims on the fact that, according to his documents, his grandfather was the first paramount ruler of Limbe and not King Manga Williams of Bimbia.

"My grandfathers were the founders of Limbe at New Town which is known as Liengu Mboke and not the Manga William family," Nanjia said at the time.On his part, Chief Martin Etule of Wovia, who died over a month ago, had said it was now the turn of the Wovia clan to designate a new Paramount Chief for Limbe.

He had said in an interview he granted to The Post that "Limbe belongs to the Wovia clan. Now the right man to be chief should be a Wovia man." Late Etule had argued that the Wovia people were the very first to settle in Limbe. He had said that the Bimbia people where the Manga Williams originated came and met them in Limbe.

Etule, who died at 99, was regarded as a custodian of the Bakweri tradition and history because of his age and especially because he was learned. That notwithstanding, the battle for succession had been raging on. The Fako administration led by the SDO, Bernard Okalia Bilai, had a few weeks back held another consultative meeting to lay the matter to rest.

Then Jesco said he called up last Saturday's meeting as a way to help the administration resolve the matter."I called this meeting as a step towards helping the administration appoint the actual Paramount Chief of Limbe," Jesco told The Post.

He said the Manga Williams family was the ruling house in Limbe and only it could designate a new Paramount Chief. He said he was going to take the result to the administration and the message would be transmitted to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation waiting for the Prime Minister's final approval.

Link to original post here

Court Dismisses Case Of Chief Manga Williams' Succession

By Francis Tim Mbom from the Up Station Newspaper

The High Court Of Fako has dismissed a motion brought before it by Prince Jesco Manga Williams against the SDO of Fako on grounds that there was no substantive matter before the court from which the motion was originating from.Prince Jesco, 88, and the elder brother to the late Paramount Chief of Limbe, Ferguson Billa Manga Williams, had filed a motion before the High Court of Fako, HCF, in Buea against the SDO of Fako, sometime in January, praying the Court to cause the defendant to hand over the WILL of the late Ferguson's will to the former.

But Justice Leslie Fobang in a ruling delivered Tuesday, February 21, in his Chambers, dismissed the case.Prince Jesco's counsel, Barrister Benjamin Enow of Liberty Law Firm , Mutengene, told The Post that the matter was quashed for lack of a substantive case or an originating matter to the motion.

Barrister Enow said they were going to concert with their client and will file for the court to issue a letter of administration of Late Ferguson's Estates to their client.

Since the Paramount Chief of Limbe died on July 7 and was laid to rest on September 9, there has been no successor as yet. All attempts to find one has meet with some resistance, this way or that way.

According to the motion before the Court: HCF/ 0055/ M/ 05-06, Prince Jesco is said to have on OCtober 11, contested when a WILL said to have been left by his late brother, Ferguson, was read out in his residence (Jesco) during a family meeting he had convened with the Fako SDO, the Probitry of the High Court, security officials and other family members.

According to the contents as read out, the late

Ferguson

willed that the GM of CDC, Henry Njalla Quan, be his successor.The motion before the Court stated that Prince Jesco "registered his objection and protest as to the origin, authenticity and contents," of the WILL.

Prince Jesco in a briefing to The Post after the ruling on Tuesday, told The Post that to the best of his knowledge, his brother "left no will." As to why he was contesting the WILL, he said when his younger brother, late

ferguson

, died, he (Jesco) wrote to the Fako administration to find out if the late Chief left anything in their keeping as a WILL. He said he got no response.

He further said it was only when he, as the family head had summoned a meeting for the issue of succession to be looked into that a WILL surfaced. According to him after the WILL was read, the administration refused to let him have the copy.

This prompted him, he said to file a case in court in order to cause the Fako Admistration to surrender the WILL to him.

Legal Mind

Barrister Sylvester Awasume in reaction to what the law holds about the authencity of a WILL said, normally a will as per the law has to be written in three signed copies and should have two witnesses; one copy, he said, has to be deposited with the probitry of the court and two with either the lawyer of the person or his/her confidant. He said the beneficiary of the WILL, by law, has to have no prior knowledge of it nor where it is kept. "It can be kept anywhere," he said.

link to newspaper article here