Did JEANNE NSOGA SONE EKOLO, Secretary General Of ISSA TCHIROMA’S FSNC, Resign From The Party, Or She Was Dismissed?

In A correspondence signed on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 And Addressed To The National President of FSNC, Mrs SONE EKOLO Informed Him Of Her Resignation From The Party

But A Correspondence That Was Signed By The National President Of FSNC, ISSA TCHIROMA, Shows That Mrs SONE EKOLO Was Dismissed From The Party On Monday, August 11, 2025

The Protracted Land Conflict Between Mrs SONE EKOLO’S Indigenous People Of Mungo Division And Bami Settlers, In Which The Lady Is Much Involved, Is Said To Had Been At The Center Of Her Problem With TCHIROMA, Who Needs Bami Votes At The Presidential Election

There is confusion as to whether Mrs Jeanne Nsoga  Sone Ekolo, who has been the Secretary General of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, CNSF, or better still, “Front pour le Salut Nationale  du Cameroun”, FSNC, resigned from the party, or if she was sacked by  the National President of the FSNC, Issa Tchiroma Bakary. It should be ne noted that Madam Sone Ekolo was also the Coordinator of the FSNC for the Littoral.

In a correspondence dated Tuesday, August 12, 2025, and addressed to the National President of FSNC, Jeanne Nsoga Sone Ekolo who had been the Secretary of the Central Committee of FSNC, since 2017, informed the FSNC leader that she has decided to resign from the party. She said she has observed with disappointment the attitude of the National President of the FSNC, in the face of the harassment and attacks she has been facing on the social media, by people she said were “the supporters of Mr Maurice Kamto”, that have been accusing her of tribalism.

Madam Sone Ekolo told Issa Tchiroma that he knows so well, that the fight in which she is involved, that has led to the false accusations and attacks, has nothing to do with tribalism, but that rather, her fight consist of demanding the restitution of the land of the indigenous people (of the Mungo Division), which were grabbed by the militias of the national army for the liberation of Cameroon, which was the armed wing of the UPC.  “I have decided to inform you, of my immediate resignation from the FSNC”, she said.

Madam Sone Ekolo said the doubts she now have in her mind about Issa Tchiroma, makes it difficult for her to continue to work with him. She said her presence may also disturb Issa Tchiroma, who in the new political path that he now wants to follow, and for which he may sign new alliances, has a policy that that makes one to prefer one community to another.

Madam Sone Ekolo further told the National President of FSNC in her correspondence that it has been an honour for her to serve FSNC for a period of 20 years, especially as Secretary General since 2017. She noted that during her period as Secretary General, FSNC won some parliamentary and some municipal councils as well. She said she wished Issa Tchiroma success in the new political path that he has now taken. She signed the correspondence as Jeanne Nsoga Sone Ekolo.

“Very Serious Fault’

Meanwhile when the copy of the correspondence that Jeanne Nsonga Sone Ekolo addressed to the National President of FSNC on August 12, started circulating, a copy of a decision that was supposedly signed on August 11 by the National President of FSNC, also surfaced. It was “Decision No. 0013 FSNC/BP/CD/ SA of 11 August 20225 on the definitive exclusion of a member of the Central Committee of FSNC”.  Article 1 of the decision taken by the National President of FSNC, said to have based on the report of the Political Bureau of the party which sat as an extraordinary disciplinary council, is loosely translated into English, as: “Mrs NSOGA epse SONE EKOLO Jeanne POLIEUNA, Secretary General of the Central Committee of FSNC, is from the date of signature of this decision, dismissed from the party, for very serious fault”. No mention was made of the very serious fault that she allegedly committed.

Meanwhile, it is not known whether Madam Jeanne Nsoga Sone Ekolo, addressed her resignation to the National President of FSNC, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, when she had not yet received the decision that the National President signed on Monday, August 11, dismissing her from the party, or whether one of them played a game.

The Dominant Bamileke Community Of Mungo Division

Meanwhile, the land issue in which the now former Secretary General of the FSNC, Jeanne Nsonga Sone Ekolo mentioned in her correspondence, has to do with the land in Mungo Division of  the Littoral Region, which include Njombe – Penja Sub – division, Mbanga Sub – division, Manjo Sub – division, the Nkongsamba area, Ebone Sub –division and so on. It is a protracted issue that is really splitting the indigenous people of the Mungo Division, and the large community of Bamileke settlers, and is an issue that many political leaders want to avoid talking about. It should be noted that today, Mungo Division is more like a Division in the West Region, as the dominant population is the Bamilekes, and they also own a bulk of the land.  With the high Bami population, they dominate the political terrain, and so most the mayors of areas like Loum, Njombe –Penja and so on, are often people whose origin is West Region.

The Protracted Land Issue

The story goes that in the 1960s during the ‘maquizard’ days, one of the leaders of the armed wing of   the UPC, Ernest Ouandji, for strategic reason moved from his native Bamileke land to the Mungo area with his militias, and installed there. The present generation of indigenes of Mungo Division, claim that the militias with Ernest Ouandji that were predominantly Bamis, chased away the natives or their parents from their land and took over the land, brought in their people from the Bamilke land in large numbers, and gave them the land.

But today’s generation of Bamilekes in the Mungo Division, who were mostly born in the Mungo Division that they have adopted as their home, claim that their parents bought the land from the natives, and that the allegation that the land were seized from the natives is spurious.

 An Old Problem, That Is Back On The Table

It should be noted that this land issue is not new. Official documents from archives show that the issue was really hot in the early 70s, after the Ahidjo regime and the French that branded the nationalist fighters as ‘maquizards’ or terrorists, ‘defeated’ them. It should be noted that Ernest Ouandji was killed by firing squad in Bafoussam in 1971.  But along the line the issue of land in the Mungo died down. But the issue is forcefully back on the on the floor, and in a different dimension, though the Government has so far been avoiding to talk about it.  It is a complicated matter for the Government. The restitution of the land as the indigenes of Mungo Division are demanding, is that the Government should take back the land the Bami settlers have been occupying for decades, and give back to the natives. Difficult!

The present generation of indigenous sons and daughters of Mungo Division at home and abroad, have re-launched the fight to get back their land from those they consider as Bamileke settlers, whose parents they claim stole their land through the militias of Ernest Ouandji. The indigenes of Mungo involved in the fight have constituted themselves in to groups, and they have been putting together documents, raising funds and so on, for the fight which they are carrying out in different forms, at home and abroad. The controversial Sawa political activist, Abel Elimbi iLobe, has been ‘recruited’ into the forefront of the fight for the restitution of the alleged stolen land.

On the other hand, the Bamilekes of the West Region are demonstrating total support for their brothers and sisters in the Mungo, propagating the version of the story that Bamilekes that settled in the Mungo in the 60s, bought the land from the indigenes, and that no land was stolen.  The Bamis in general are red with anger that the indigenes of Mungo, including persons like Abe Elimbi Lobe, are publicly branding or calling Ernest Ouandji a bandit, whereas he is a nationalist leader and a martyr.  The land issue and the branding of Ernest Ouandji as a bandit by one of the sides, in conflict, have so much increased the level of hate speech and hatred between the opposing camps in the land conflict.

Complicated Issue For Political Leaders

The fight by sons and daughters of  Mungo Division for the restitution of their land by the Bamis, as aforementioned is a complicated issue for political leaders. If the person takes sides with the indigenes who are minority, he will fall out with the Bamis that have the population, and which is something that matters to party leaders, especially when national elections are concerned.  After resigning from Government, and breaking up with the CPDM alliance, Issa Tchiroma and his party, need new alliances with some major opposition parties like the MRC.  Issa Tchiroma who is a candidate for the October 12, 2025 presidential elections, needs Bami votes.

But with the daughter of the Mungo Division, Jeanne Nsoga Sone Ekolo, being the Secretary General of the FSNC, and at the same time so much involved in the bitter conflict for the restitution of the land of the indigenous people, it definitely became difficult for Tchiroma and Madam Sone Ekolo to continue to work together. As can be seen in the August 12 correspondence that Madam Sone Ekolo addressed to the National President of FSNC, Issa Tchiroma, she referred to the Bamis that have been attacking her on the social media because her involvement in the land issue in the Mungo Division, as supporters of Maurice Kamto.  That in itself is a problem.

Reactions To The Departure Of Jean Nsoga Sone Ekolo From FSNC

Reactions to the departure of Jeanne Nsoga Sone Ekolo from Issa Tchiroma’s FSNC party as seen on the social media, depends on the position of each individual on the land conflict in the Mungo. Some people have in their reaction saluted the decision of Issa Tchiroma to chase away Jean Nsoga Sone Ekolo, whom they accused of insulting the Bamis and promoting hatred and division. On the other hand, there are those that have castigated Issa Tchiroma for sacrificing Jeanne Nsoga Sone Ekolo who has worked so much for FSNC, because he wants Bami votes. This category of people have hailed Jeanne Nsoga Sone Ekolo by standing firm in defense of the interest of her people, and for not sacrificing the interest of  her community because Tchiroma needs Bami votes.