Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
The City Mayor Fumes That There Are People Who Come To Douala, Make Big Money, But Carry Everything Away To Develop Their Areas Of Origin, While Making No Contributions To The Development Of Douala, Where The Make The Money. He Also Alleges That There Are People, With Vicious Intention To Destroy Douala, And Said They Were Behind The Post –Election Violence
The City Mayor of Douala, Dr Roger Mbassa Ndine, says the Sawa land or people are traditionally peaceful and hospitable, and that the people’s peaceful nature and hospitality or nature of sharing, is what has made Douala a big cosmopolitan town hosting millions of people. He says Douala has become Cameroon in miniature, as there are large numbers of people from the other nine regions of the country, living in Douala, because the people are welcoming. He said any Sawa son or daughter who is hostile to people from other regions living in Douala, does not act or talk in the name of the Sawa people, for the Sawa people embraces living together.
Speaking in Douala on March 31, 2026, the Douala City Mayor, Mbassa Ndine, disclosed that while the official figure of the population of Douala at the last population census in 2005 stood at 1.9 million (One million, nine hundred thousand people), the population of the city which is Cameroon’s economic capital, was in 2025 officially estimated to be over 3 million inhabitants. He also disclosed that official statistics show that an average of 100.000 people each year, leave the other regions to settle in Douala. The City Mayor argued that what is attracting many people to Douala is not the town’s closeness to the sea as some people claim, for Douala is not the only town that is close to the sea. Rather, he claimed that what attracts many people to come and settle in Douala, is the peaceful nature and hospitality of the Sawa land and people, as well as the several opportunities available, as the Sawa people are people who by nature like to share.
City Mayor Says Douala Has Made Millionaires And Billionaires
The Douala City Mayor, Dr Roger Mbassa Ndine, went on to reiterated his claim that Douala offers to those who come from other regions to live there, a place to live, that the town also offers them peace and hospitality, as well as opportunities to make money. He said the lives of most of those who have come to live in Douala have changed, and that some of them have become millionaires and billionaires. The City Mayor insisted that it is Douala that has created quite a number of millionaires and billionaires among people that have come to live in the town.
But the Douala City Mayor said most of the people from other regions living in Douala, who have made money in the town, should ask themselves what they have in return also done to the town, as regard contributing to the development and beautification of the town. The Mayor said while some of the people that have come and made money in Douala, have in fact made contributions in different forms towards the development and beautification of the town, many don’t do anything in that direction. Rather, he said what they continue to do, is to expect from the town , or expect the council to do this or that, but do not ask themselves what they have done for town, that have given them the opportunities to live peacefully and make money.
The Mayor noted that even at the time that the Douala City Council and the municipal councils, have difficulties to ensure the regular collection of garbage in the different municipalities, due to financial constraint, the billionaires in Douala are doing nothing to assist the councils, because they do not consider Douala as their home. “When the town is clean or beautiful, it is not only for the good of the mayors or councils, but for all inhabitants. When garbage is collected in a municipality, it is not done for the mayor, but for all inhabitants”, the Douala City Mayor argued.
The City Mayor also blamed the population of Douala in general for not helping to keep the town clean, pointing out that many people have the bad habit of just dumping household refuse or throwing dirt indiscriminately. He said there is apparently the need for civic education.
The Bamileke Business Community – No Reciprocity!
The Douala City Mayor fumed that there are many ungrateful people living in Douala, who see the town only as a place for them to make money, but never in return do anything for the town, or show love for the town, and thus do not reciprocate the hospitality and opportunities that the town offers them. The mayor lashed out that those people make big money in Douala, and carry everything away, to develop their areas of origin, while doing nothing to contribute to the development and beautification of the town where they live and make money. The City Mayor accused this category of people, of abusing the hospitality of the Douala people.
Though the City Mayor did not call any names or did not directly accuse any community in Douala, observers were all unanimous that his criticisms were directed at members of the Bamileke business community in Douala, whom the Sawas always accuse of making money in Douala, but carrying all the money to their native West Region. It is no secret that the relationship between the indigenous Sawa people and the Bamileke settlers in Douala, has in reality never been good.
Post- Election Violence
The Douala City Mayor, Dr Roger Mbassa Ndine, who was the Wouri Divisional Coordinator for the CPDM campaign at the 2025 presidential election, which to be precise held on October 12, questioned the reasons for the post – election violence that rocked Douala. He insisted on the point that the CPDM in Wouri Division, that is, Douala 1 – 6, accepted the result of the election as it came out of the polling stations., as well as the official result, in which their candidate, lost. To be fair to the Wouri CPDM, it would be recalled that barely two days after the October 12, 2025 presidential election, a well-known CPDM Communication Officer in Douala, Charles Elie Zang, who is also a Grand Councilor, declared over Canal 2 International, that from the result they had from the polling stations, the ruling CPDM or their candidate, Paul Biya, had lost in Douala, and that they as democrats had accepted the results.
It should be noted that even from the official result of the October 12, 2025 presidential election, the worst result that the CPDM candidate, Paul Biya, recorded, was in the Littoral Region, where he scored as low as 20.99 %, with one of the opposition candidates, Issa Tchroma Bakary, scoring 64.59 %. In the four Divisions that make up the Littoral Region, Biya won in the Sanaga Maritime and Nkam Divisions, while Tchiroma won in Wouri Division (Douala 1 – 6), and Mungo Division. The big difference in the scores was because the bulk of the population of the Littoral Region, live in Douala or Wouri Division, where Biya in fact scored bellowed 20 %.
Malicious Intention To Destroy Douala
Meanwhile, the Douala City Mayor was furious that ironically, Douala where the opposition won, and where the CPDM candidate had the worst score in the country, and where the Wouri CPDM accepted the result as such, was instead the biggest victim of post –election violence in the country. There were several cases of violence, as well as several cases of vandalism, arsons, and looting in some parts of Douala. A number of lives were also lost. The Douala City Mayor repeatedly questioned why Douala, where the CPDM lost and accepted the result of the election the way it was, instead suffered the worst post –election violence.
The Douala City mayor, Mbassa Ndine, claimed that the violence that rocked Douala in the name of post –election violence last October, was in realty not about the October 12, 2025 presidential election. He alleged that there were hidden faces behind the violence, and that they know the people, and their vicious or malicious intentions. He alleged that their strategy and real intention, was to hide behind post-election violence to destroy Douala.
The Douala City Mayor called on all inhabitants of Douala to strive to love the town where they live and work or do business. He said it is difficult to understand how somebody can be living in a town, especially a land of hospitality, and at the same time scheming to destroy the town.
Government Discriminating Against Douala
The Mayor of Douala City Council, Roger Mbassa Ndine, disclosed that even the Government has recently shown some discrimination against Douala. He said while Yaounde and Douala Councils were facing the same difficulties in garbage collection in the last one year or so, the Government recently bought some garbage collection trucks and other materials, and distributed to the Yaounde City and Municipal Councils. But he said noting was given to the councils in Douala.
As for the Pope’s upcoming visit to Cameroon that will take him to Yaounde, Bamenda and Douala, the City Mayor of Douala disclosed that the Government has given subventions to Yaounde and Bamenda, to help prepare the towns for the visit, while nothing has been given to Douala. He said this means that the Douala City Council has to struggle for example, to look for funds for some road maintenance.
