Did Some Local SDF Officials And Members Of The Tiko Electoral District Of The Party, Backstab Chief Mayor Mokondo Daniel?

SDF National Chairman, Chief Hon Joshua Osih, in a moving eulogy at the funeral of late Chief Mayor Mokondo, said he was backstabbed “by those who had once walked alongside him”

But some sources in the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF insist that Chief Mayor Mokondo betrayed the party, and that was why the Electoral District slammed Article 8.2 on him.

 In a moving eulogy that was presented at the funeral of the late former Mayor of the Tiko Municipal Council, Chief MOKONDO Daniel, last weekend in Tiko, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, Chief Hon Joshua NAMBANGI OSIH, said they were gathered on the day in solemn remembrance, in mourning and in deep reflection, to pay their last respect to a man whom he said “has been etched into the history of our country”. He said Chief Mokondo was “a son of the soil, steadfast servant of the people, and a loyal member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) 0f the SDF”.

 Worthy of note, that Chief Mokondo Daniel was Mayor of the then SDF –run Tiko Municipal Council from 2013 – 2020.

Meanwhile In the eulogy, the National Chairman of the SDF said Chief Mokondo’s tenure as Mayor of the Tiko Council was marked by courage, conviction and a sincere love for the people. “He believed in justice. He believed in service. He believed that politics should never be a tool for division, but a bridge toward building stronger, more united communities” ,Chairman Osih added.

SDF Leader Says Chief Mokondo Was Backstabbed

But the National Chairman of the SDF went on to say that while they gathered at the solemn ceremony to honour the life the late Chief Mayor Mokondo Daniel, truth must be told, not to reopen wounds, but to heal them.

Chairman Osih declared that:  “In 2020, Chief Mayor Mokondo was backstabbed. Not by strangers, but by those who once walked alongside him. He was betrayed by the very people he served so diligently. The pain of that betrayal was visible – it crushed his spirit, but not his faith. And even after the dark moment, the battles didn’t stop. The attacks continued. The wounds deepened.

“But through it all, he remained steadfast. He did not raise his voice in anger. He did not repay evil with evil. He bore his cross with dignity and walked his path with grace and humility, committed to serving and uplifting his community till the very end.

“Today he lies before us – mot as Chief, not as a politician, not as a mayor, but as a man who gave his all even when all was taken from him. His passing reminds us powerfully that our time on earth is fleeting and precious.

“Let us not allow his death to be in vain. Let it mark the end of our burdens of bitterness or resentment, and the beginning of reconciliation. Let it be the turning point where we, as a people, realize that hatred only destroys, but forgiveness – forgiveness builds. Now that he is gone, our greatest tribute to his memory and his life’s work would be choosing that path of forgiveness, healing, and unity. Let us allow love to overcome past hurts, and honour our beloved Chief and mayor’s legacy by fostering a community built on truth, mutual respect and solidarity”.

“Let Us Rise Above The Betrayals Of The Past”

Chief Hon Joshua Osih, the son of a late senior pastor of the PCC,  further preached that though  Chief Mayor Mokondo was no longer with then in body, his spirit cries out to them to forgive one another, to heal the broken places to build again, together. “Let us rise above the betrayals of the past. Let us honour him by doing what he would have wanted – to reconcile, to embrace one another, to put Tiko and our beloved Cameroon first. As we say goodbye, may his soul find the peace that often eluded him in this world. And may we find the courage to forgive, as he would have forgiven”, the son of the late senior pastor, appealed.

In conclusion, the National Chairman of the SDF said: “Farewell, Chief Mayor Mokondo Daniel. You were wronged, yet you remained righteous. You were betrayed, yet you stayed brave. You are gone, but your legacy – o, f truth, of love, and hope – lives on. Rest well, son of Tiko. Rest well, soldier of peace. Rest well, vanguard of Social Democracy. You were a true dedicated servant leader whose legacy of compassion, resilience, and unwavering commitment to the people of Tiko will endure in our hearts forever” Osih prayed that may those of them  who remain, find solace, courage and strength in the love that Chief Mokondo has left behind.

A Moving, But Apparently Controversial Eulogy

 But the moving eulogy of the SDF National Chairman, Chief Hon Joshua Osih, was apparently controversial, as he was accused by some SDF militants in Tiko, to have openly taken side with the Chief Mokondo Camp in the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF, instead of being neutral as the leader of the party. Worst still, the reference to Chief Mayor Mokondo Daniel as son of the soil by the SDF Chairman, was also considered by many SDF militants in Tiko as an inappropriate or provocative language by the leader of a major national political party like the SDF, especially as the Chairman of the Tiko Electoral District who is said to head the other camp, does not hail from the Southwest Region. This is something which may make it more complicated to achieve the much needed genuine reconciliation that the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF so badly needs, especially before the next Municipal Elections.

Friends Become Foes

Meanwhile, it is no secret that two camps have being existing in the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF, in the last couple of years. The bigger camp is headed by the Tiko Electoral District Chairman of the SDF, Tebo, while the other camp was headed by the former Mayor of Tiko, Chief Mokondo Daniel, who is now of blessed memory.

Worthy of note that Chief Mokondo and Tebo who were reportedly close friends, later became foes for reasons best known only to the two. When the two camps emerged, there were accusations and counter accusations. The conflict between the two camps degenerated in late 2019, when the Tiko Electoral District had to put up a list for the February 9, 2020 Municipal Elections. The list was reportedly drawn up somewhere in Mutengene in Tiko Sub – division, by the Tiko Electoral District Chairman of the SDF and some of his collaborators. The then sitting Mayor of the Tiko Council, Chief Mokondo was sidelined in the exercise, while one of the Deputy Mayors was actively involved.  What reportedly shocked Chief Mokondo the most, as a sitting mayor, was the fact that his name was not on the SDF list for the council election.  It was thus a clear message to him that if the SDF won the February 9, 2020 Municipal Elections in Tiko, he would neither be a mayor, nor even a municipal councilor.

Fighting Intensified Between The Camps

Fighting intensified between the Tebo and Chief Mokondo camps in the Tiko Electoral District.  The situation escalated to the point where Chief Mokondo was accused by the Executive Bureau of the Tiko Electoral District of anti – party activities, based on an allegation that Mokondo in his desperation to frustrate the SDF list from winning the 2020 municipal elections in Tiko, had allied with the CPDM against the SDF.

Suffice to say the executive committee of the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF ended up slamming Article 8.2 on Chief Mokondo for alleged anti – party activities. This meant exclusion from the SDF. However the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the SDF under the then National Chairman of the party, Ni John Fru Ndi, rejected the decision by the Tiko Electoral District, and reinstated Chief Mokondo into the party. Despite that Mokondo was in a way still excluded from the party in Tiko Electoral District, as he was not welcomed by the local party officials at any SDF meeting in the Sub –division.

“A Stingy Mayor!”

Meanwhile, one of the main reasons why Chief Mayor Mokondo Daniel did not get much support in the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF and even beyond, in the fight between his camp and that let by  the District  Chairman (Tebo),  was said to had been due to the fact that he was considered stingy or crafty. As is commonly said in the quarters, he was said to be a “Japanese handbrake” when he was mayor.  He would not financially and materially assist the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF to carry out its activities, he would not assist militants in difficulties, he would not assist the regional bureau of the party.

It should be noted that it is like a tradition in Cameroon that when a political party is running a local council, the local party structure in particular, looks up for assistance from the mayor to carry out the party’s activities. Be it the CDU, the CPDM, the SDF, the UNDP, the PCRN and so on, it is the same. After all, it was thanks to the party structure that the person became mayor.  But Chief Mokondo reportedly failed in this aspect when he was Mayor of Tiko.

And so when Chief Mayor Mokondo’s name was absent from the SDF list for the 2020 municipal elections in Tiko, many SDF officials and militants of the Tiko Electoral District had no sympathy for him.  After all, of what use had he been to the party as the as Tiko Mayor since 2013. More so, as the saying goes, he who eats alone, fights alone.

 Bureau Members Of Tiko Electoral  District  Absent From Funeral

Meanwhile to show how rancorous  the conflict between the Tebo and Chief Mokondo camps had become in  the Tiko Electoral District of the SDF, the members of the Tebo –led bureau of  the Electoral District  and some other members of  the SDF, were conspicuously absent from the funeral of the former SDF Mayor of Tiko, Chief Mokondo Daniel.  The family of late Chief Mokondo reportedly did not want to set eyes on them at the funeral. This also indicates how difficult it would be to reconcile the two camps.

In fact much effort was made in the past by NEC when Ni John Fru Ndi was still the National Chairman of the SDF, to reconcile the camps of the Chairman of Tiko Electoral District of the party, Tebo, and that of the former Mayor of Tiko, Chief Mokondo Daniel, but they all failed.  Hon Joseph Mbah Ndam and others were sent on a number of missions to Tiko to try to reconcile the two warring camps, but all their efforts went in vain.  But as the current National Chairman of the SDF, Chief Hon  Joshua Osih  stressed in the eulogy last weekend in Tiko,  the reconciliation of the two camps in the Tiko Electoral District of the party, is really an imperative for the SDF. Perhaps with one of the leaders of the warring factions now gone, members of the two camps might finally come to reason and see the need for reconciliation. Hopes that reason will prevail..