Interview: “We Resolved A 30-Year Conflict In Two Weeks”

How did the Mannjim Festival go in Muwah Kingdom?
Mannjim was very successful from the first day on December 20, 2025 until the end on January 4, 2026. Why do I say so? Because both pictures and videos from the event attest how successful it was.
Muwah people, our neighbours from Santa, traditional leaders, administrative authorities, and security forces all played a great role in ensuring the success of the historic event. Everyone was there to see the success of the event. So it was extremely successful.
Apart from the opening day, the remaining days were equally successful until January 1, 2026 when we had the “Fana La” – the day of reconciliation and the promotion of peace. It was a day to forgive one another, and a day to bless the land. After that, we began receiving delegations from different villages. In all, about seven delegations, including their Fons, from the North West and West Regions, visited Muwah Palace on the occasion of the Mannjim Festival. Each visiting village had a day set aside for them – for their dances to entertain crowds. All of them brought along their drinks, food and a cow each which they slaughtered and prepared their meals.
 Mannjim was an occasion to unite Pinyin Clan and the people of Santa and the North West Region.

How did it feel coming back home after almost 10 years of absence?
It felt very relieving because having stayed away from home because of insecurity for a very long time, there was a big problem, particularly as a traditional ruler. There were ceremonies, rites and a number of significant cultural activities my subjects could not do in my absence. 
For example, during the Manjim, we installed about 17 family successors. All these could not happen in my absence. 
If there were no peace, even with my presence this time, these things could not have been done. So, first of all, I will to thank everyone, including the State, every stakeholder, every player, who played any role, significant or small, to see that there is peace, particularly in Santa Subdivision in Mezam Division of the North West Region. This gave us the opportunity to successfully run the Manjim event continuously for two weeks without an incident.

One of your objectives in going for Mannjim Festival was to ensure unity in your kingdom and in the larger Pinyin Clan. Were you able to achieve this objective? 
Yes, I was able to achieve this objective because Muwah for 30 years had been at loggerheads with the neighbouring Buchi village, which is part of Pinyin Clan. We met in the Divisional Officer’s office in Santa and negotiated peace. This also offered me the opportunity to go to Buchi for the first time in 30 years, and we resolved all the differences our forefathers had. Everything is now resolved. I was also able to visit other villages in in Pinyin Clan like Menka, etc.
I visited the Paramount Fon of Pinyin. We are all in good terms, everybody is putting behind them any issues they had. So I would say there is unity, there is peace, even though it may not be automatic. Issues that have been there for a very long time take time to go away, and so we still have to manage a few challenges. Everyone has left behind bygones and we are now forging ahead as a united people. 

At the end of it all, what message did you leave for your subjects and people in Pinyin Clan? 
Thank you, this is one of the most important questions. For my subjects and people in Pinyin Clan, I repeated to them that they must always embrace peace. They must choose dialogue over confrontation. They must not imprison themselves by keeping grudges. When you love your neighbour, you live at peace and sleep peacefully.
And if you dwell in hatred, you will not find it easy to implement any development projects. A united people can tie a bundle, so we must remain united, even in diversity, even with differing ideas. Unity does not mean we agree on everything. It means that we accept different opinions, come to a compromise, and move forward.
This is not just for the people of Pinyin Clan, but also for those of the North West Region, and Cameroonians in general. Whatever challenges we have as Cameroonians, we must use the same principle. A 30-year crisis Muwah Kingdom had with Buchi Kingdom was resolved in two weeks. This shows that whatever problems Cameroon has, if the people come to the negotiating table using the same principle - forgiving each other, reconciling, accepting different opinions, and then forging a common path - the same success is likely to be attained. 

One of the reasons that kept you away from your kingdom for almost 10 years was insecurity. This time around you were able to spend more than two weeks in the village. What is the security situation now in Muwah Kingdom and in Pinyin Clan? 
The situation is calm because there is no disagreement among the people anymore. The insecurity that was there before, I did not find any. But again, I thank the State and the local community for ensuring that there was security for everybody during the event.
Even before Mannjim, there were no incidents. And after the event, there have been no incidents still. This gives us the assurance that the situation has significantly improved.
We pray that everything will be done to maintain and continuously promote the current situation so that we don’t return to chaos. Chaos does not benefit Muwah people, it only destroys them.

You have now left your kingdom on your way back to your station in South Africa. How soon do you expect to come back to your...