PART 2: How Amity Bank That Was Created By A Group Of Anglophones, Ended Up An Affiliate Of An Ivorian Bank

A very destructive conflict erupted between the former majority shareholder of Amity Bank, Isa Bongam, and the new majority shareholder and General Manager the bank, Lawrence Tasha, with two camps emerging in the bank. Bongam and Tasha got engaged in a series of protracted, damaging and costly court cases, which drained a lot of money and seriously affected Amity Bank in a number of ways.

It is no secret that the judiciary in Cameroon has been corrupt for many years. Amnesty International has repeatedly said that. And so the court cases between the two financial heavyweights, Bongam and Tasha, dragged on for a  long time, to the benefit of lawyers, State Counsels and magistrates that handled the matter. But the conflict was of course to the detriment of Amity Bank and the other shareholders.

Tasha Seeks Assistance To Fight Bongam

It should be noted that comparatively, Tasha was not much use to the Cameroonian system like Bongam, who was a contractor and was often involved in disputes. Bongam was very used to fighting legal battles. Tasha had spent many years in the United States, and even when he returned home, he worked for a US bank, and so was more used to doing things the American way. But the Cameroonian system was different. As aforementioned, Transparency international has repeatedly cited the Cameroon judiciary as one of the institutions in country where corruption is high.  In Bamenda for example, Bongam was feared by many, because it was an open secret that he had the Bamenda courts in his pocket. If you dared to get into land dispute or any dispute with Bongam, and he filed a case against you in Bamenda, you were finished, even if you had glaring evidences to show that you were right.  A times even before judgment was delivered in a case, Bongam would boastfully tell his opponent what the verdict would be, and it would come to pass.   Tasha definitely knew the story of Bongam and the judiciary.

 Enter Business Magnate, Tantse Bernard

Suffice to say Tasha in desperation convinced a prominent business man, Tantse Bernard, to buy shares in Amity Bank, with the real intention being that Tantse should ally with him to fight Bongam. Tantse was an Anglo – Bami, who grew up at Likomba, Tiko Sub – division, and adopted it as his home. Tantse was a big businessman. He was the proprietor of the International Trading Company, ITC, in Douala. It was a big company in the 80s and 90s.  ITC also had a branch in Mutengene, to show Tantse’s attachment to his adopted home. Mutengene was even actually the headquarters of ITC on paper.

Tasha was from the very beginning determined to maintain Amity Bank as an Anglophone Bank, as regard the shareholders. Amity Bank was initially designed to be the pride of the Anglophones. In bringing Tantse to be a major shareholder of Amity Bank, Tasha convinced himself that, though Tantse had a Francophone background as regard the origin of his parents, he grew up in Likomba in the Southwest Region, and had adopted it as his home, and so could be considered as an Anglophone.  Tasha thus brought Tantse into Amity Bank as an Anglophone, though his principal reason for bringing the heavy weight into the financial institution was to make him an ally to fight Bongam.

Tantse Tells Off Bongam

Things started on well between Tasha and Tantse in Amity Bank, and the latter effectively played the role he was brought in to play. Tantse was a big economic operator who was quite used to the Cameroonian system, and could also fight well in the system. Tantse thus greatly reinforced the Tasha camp, and Bongam too knew then that he was facing a strong man. No sooner did Tantse enter Amity Bank as shareholder, than he bluntly told Bongam, that his story of majority shareholder and Board Chair was over, and that the 150 million FCFA he borrowed was a withdrawal from his shares. Tantse thus sided with Tasha to insist that what was left of Bongam’s share in Amity Bank was 20 million FCFA, and so he could no longer be the Board Chair of the financial institution. And so the legal battle between Bongam and Tasha camps continued in court. However the coming in of Tantse, was certainly not good for Bongam in the legal battles.

Bongam Leaves The Country

Meanwhile, along the line, Isa Bongam who was a controversial economic operator (contractor), notorious for often been involved in court cases or disputes, fled from Cameroon to settle in the United States. It was however not the Amity Bank issue that made him to sneak out of the country.  It was believed by many that his departure was connected to a mafia that was involved in a big contract he got in Limbe, Southwest Region. Seemingly, a big sum of money was paid in advance for the contract which was not executed. The whole thing was more of a big mafia.  It was being muted that a number of other big names were involved in the deal. The matter became a big financial scandal. Apparently the police dragnet was closing in on Bongam, and he had to take off.

Problem Sparks Off Between Tasha And Tantse

But Isa Bongam’s departure was not the end of trouble for Laurence Tasha over Amity Bank, partly due to his faults.  Tasha, even back in his days as a student, was reportedly known as an arrogant person. That was the ugly side of Tasha that Tantse Bernard did not know. When Bongam fled from the country and his case against Tasha over Amity Bank thus ended, Tantse soon started seeing the other side of Tasha, who became arrogant and highhanded in the running of Amity Bank. Tantse realized that Tasha no longer cared about his his position on certain issues in the bank. The two former allies started having problems, and at one point Tantse decided to leave Amity Bank.

Without notifying Amity Bank or following the right process, Tantse Bernard embarrassed Tasha by selling his shares in Amity Bank, to a number of Bamileke business men. It was said in the bank that Tantse sold “his shares in the quarter”. One of those to whom he sold the shares was Christophe Silienou, the PDG of SCTM Gas, who was also known to be a fighter, and somebody who always wanted to be in control for his own agenda or interest. Though Tantse deliberately did not follow the right process in the sale of his shares, Tasha could not afford to start another fight, this time around with his former ally, Tantse Bernard. So he let it go.

 Tantse Leaves Amity Bank, But – – –

There is doubt that if Tantse informed Amity Bank, that, he wanted to sell his shares, Tasha would have flooked for some Anglophones to buy the shares. Tantse definitely knew that. But why he did what he did, remains the question. Perhaps that was Tantse’s own way to teach Tasha a lesson. Tasha had lobbied Tantse to become a shareholder of Amity Bank, more because he wanted to use him to fight Bongam.  Tantse had become one of the major shareholders of Amity Bank.

After Bongam left the country, Tasha started showing the other side of him. Tantse knew so well that Tasha wanted the list of shareholders of Amity Bank to reflect as an Anglophone bank. But perhaps out of indignation for Tasha’s change of attitude after ‘using’ him, Tantse too decided not only to leave Amity Bank, but  in a number of  Francophone that he knew so well Tasha did not like. More so, the small group of individuals, that Tantse enabled them to enter Amity Bank as shareholders were, persons he definitely knew will give Tasha hard times.

The Anglophone Identity Of Amity Bank Was Gone

Here now was Amity Bank that started as an Anglophone bank, and with the determination by man who initiated the bank project to maintain it as an Anglophone Bank, now suddenly having a group of Bamileke businessmen (Francophone) as shareholders. The original Anglophone identity of Amity Bank was gone.

Not only that. No sooner did those Bami shareholders come in, than Tasha and his men started sensing that their undisclosed ambition was to take control of Amity Bank. Tasha found he was helmed by these new and very ambitious and impatient shareholders, with an unbridled appetite to have control of Amity Bank.  They were not giving Tasha any breathing space. Criticized at every turn, the Bami guys wanted him out of the post of PDG (Board Chair / General Manager) of Amity Bank.

Tasha Goes For Prof Joseph Owona

Again in desperation like before, Lawrence Tasha decided to look for an ally to come in and help fight this relatively new and small group of troublesome shareholders. This time around he thought of a heavy weight in the Biya regime, who could intimidate these “trouble makers”.  Tasha rushed to Yaounde and met a heavy weight in the regime, Prof Joseph Owona, to discuss with him to become a shareholder of Amity Bank, and offered to pay for his shares. In fact Tasha was the one who paid for Joseph Owona’s shares in Amity Bank, for him, to become a shareholder.

Watch Out For Part 3 Of The Amity Bank Story