Why Many Family Businesses In Cameroon, Do Not Survive Their Founders (Part 15):

 Many Widows And Children Of Late Multibillionaire, VICTOR FOTSO, Founder  Of The Big Family Business Known As Fotso Group, Reportedly Living In Misery

One Of The Widows Died, Leaving Behind Bitter Words For The Administrator Of The Fotso Estate, Mme LAURE TOUKAM NGITAP, In A Recorded Message. 25 Children Of The Late Business Magnate, Also Dragged The Administrator To Court In Douala

The Devastating Effect Of The Absence Of Barrister FLORENCE FOTSO, And   YVES MICHEL FOTSO, On The Estate Of Late VICTOR FOTSO

Following the conflict between the factions in the Fotso Family, the supposed Administrator of the Estate, Mme Laure Toukam Njitap, would not bring together the family to see into either the sharing of the property or the management of the estate. A majority of late Fotso’s wives and children, have reportedly since  been facing a lot of financial hardship, as they have so far  not received a dime from the estate. Things got to a stage where at the beginning of each school year, some concerned elite of Koung –Khi Division led by a CPDM elite, Hon Albert Kouincho, had to contribute money and come to the rescue of the widows of Victor Fotso at home (Bandjoun), to enable their children who are still in school, to continue with their education.

In September 2023 for example, Hon Kouinche and two other elite of Koung – Khi, Justin Talom and Myor David Kegne, jointly handed to the widows of  Victor Fotso in Bandjoun, an envelop of 10 million FCFA, to assist them handle the basic needs of their children, in relation to the 2023 /24 school reopening. In his widest of imagination, the multibillionaire, Victor Fotso, when alive certainly could never have imagined that things could one day degenerate to such a situation in his family.

There has been a lot of indignation, frustration and infighting in the Victor Fotso Family over assets since his passing away. A few persons are alleged to have sat on the huge Family Business or estate of late Victor Fotso, to the detriment of the majority. In 2023, a group comprised of 25 children of late Victor Fotso, dragged their sister who is the Administrator of their late father‘s estate, Mme Laure Toukam Njitap, to a Douala court through a ‘citation directe’. They accused her among other things of incompetence in the management of the Family Business. Of course late Victor Fotso did not groom her to manage the huge Family Business, and what is thus allegedly happening cannot be a surprise.    

A Widow Leaves Behind A Bitter Message

A French language daily newspaper based in the West Region, Realites Plus, in the lead story of its edition of July 18, 2024, addressed an emotional message to the Administrator of the estate of late Victor Fotso, who is Mme Laure Toukam Njitap.  The message written on the front page of the newspaper read: “Laure, au nom de la memoire du Pere Victor Fotso, reunis les 144 freres, soeurs, et veuves mamans, fais la paix avec tous et mets tout le monde a l’aise”. The paper added, “Le deces le premiere Juillet 2024 de 21eme epouse de feu Victor Fotso fait beaucoup de bruits dans la grande famille. Mafo Marie Claire est decedee laissant des enregistrements audio qui font mal et contre Laure Toukam Njitap, l’heritiere du multimilliardaire Victor Fotso. Face a situation dificile que vit la famille de Victor Fotso, le quotidian Realites Plus lance un plaidoyer fort, envers le successeurs principal, Laure Toukam, pour quelle laise tombe tout, et remints la paix de la famille. Et quelle fasse ce que le Patriarch Fotso a laisse dans le testament, pour que tout le monde vive biens et non dans la misère”.

In the message, the French language daily newspaper, Realites Plus, launched a strong appeal to Mrs Laure Toukam Njitap, the Administrator of the estate of Late Victor Fotso, that she should in respect of the memory of her late father, Victor Fotso, bring together all the total of 144 brothers, sisters and the widows of the late Patriarch that are alive, make peace with all of them, and put all of them at ease.  Putting them at ease meant making all children and widows to be able live well, and not in misery.

The paper noted that Mafo Marie Claire, one of the widows of the late Victor Fotso, who to be more precise was the 21^st wife of the business magnate, died on July 1, 2024 leaving behind an audio massage that was causing a lot pain or anger in the entire Fotso family against Laure Toukam Njitap, the Administrator of the estate of late Victor Fotso. The paper in its appeal to Laure Toukam Njitap, called on her to forget about everything as regard the conflict in the family, and do everything to bring back peace in the family of the late Victor Fotso. “She should do what Patriarch Fotso said in the Will, so that everybody should live well and not in misery”, the paper urged.

Absence Of Florence And Yves Michel Fotso

 Even though the business mogul and Bandjoun notable, Victor Fotso, was not only a polygamist but one with so many wives, the woman that was closest to him was said to have been his first wife, the mother of Yves Michel Fotso. He reportedly never hesitated to make it clear to the other wives that he had no apology for being very close to his first wife, for that was a woman who got married to him when he was still struggling in life. When Victor Fotso’s first wife died, the man was shattered.

Meanwhile the two children of Victor Fotso’s first wife, Barrister Florence Fotso and Yves Michel Fotso, were so close to him, and he too manifested so much love and trust in them.  Victor Fotso’s first child and daughter, Florence Fotso, who was a lawyer by profession, also became his key legal adviser for the Family Business that he set up,  as well as the lead lawyer for his companies, even though she was based in France and also got married to a French man. If Florence did not accept that his father should sign a business document, he would not sign.  The business documents of the Fotso Group were either entirely done or finalized by Barrister Florence Fotso.

As for Yves Michel Fotso, the father brought him into the Fotso Group for grooming, and later entrusted him with the management of some of his businesses. It was clear to everybody that Yves Michel Fotso was the person the father, Victor Fotso, had groomed to eventually take over the running of the Family Business, that is, Fotso Group, when he would no longer be around. When the Fotso Group created Commercial Bank of Cameroon, CBC, and was of course the majority shareholder, it was Yves Michel Fotso that became the Board Chair of the bank. CBC had a rapid growth, and a branch was later opened in Sao Tome and Principe. Worth noting this reporter (Uncle Joe) was one of the Cameroonian journalists that were invited to travel to Sao Tome and Principe, for the inauguration of the affiliate of CBC in that small African country.  The heavily attended inauguration ceremony was chaired in person by the President of that country, with Yves Michel Fotso sitting by his site.

“Part Of My Body Is Dead”

Meanwhile the business magnate, Victor Fotso, suffered a terrible blow to his life when his first daughter and chief legal adviser, Barrister Florence Fotso, who as aforementioned was based in France, passed away. Though Florence was married to a French man, the father insisted that the daughter’s corpse should be brought to Cameroon for him to bury. When the corpse of Barrister Florence arrive Yaounde, the father, Victor Fotso, wept like a child. In his eulogy at the burial ceremony, Victor Fotso minced no words that with Florence’s death, part of his body was dead. Observers say Victor Fotso’s world really started falling apart, when he lost his beloved first wife, followed by the passing away of his much beloved first daughter.

As if to say that it never rains but pours, Victor Fotso’s first son, Yves Michel Fotso, who at one point was appointed General Manager of the State owned Cameroon Airlines, CAMAIR, by President Biya, was later picked up at his Douala residence, precisely on December 1, 2010 by the police, and ferried to Yaounde where he ended up at the Yaounde Central Prison commonly known as Kondengui Prison. Yves Michel Fotso was alleged to have been involved in the embezzlement of funds when he was General Manager of CAMAIR.  It is even difficult to understand why Yves Michel Fotso accepted the appointment as General Manager of the national carrier, CAMAIR, when he had so much to manage in the Fotso Group. He had even created some private business lines abroad.

 Yves Michel Fotso Repaid The Alleged Stolen Funds, But – –

It should be noted that after Yves Michel Fotso was tried at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde, and sentenced on the charge of embezzlement, he paid the money that he was accused to have embezzled, into the State Coffer. His lawyers happily announced that Yves Michel Fotso was about to be released from jail. This was supposed to be in line, with an official text that had been signed by President Biya, that embezzlers of State funds that paid back the money into the State coffer would be released. The decision however had to be based on the appreciation of the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals. Suffice to say that Yves Michel Fotso was not released from jail. Some sources then alleged that there was still another charge pending against him. His lawyers dismissed that allegation as nonsense. The suspicion was that there were some big men in the regime, who had scores to settle with Yves Michel Fotso, and blocked his release.

Meanwhile the deaths of his first wife and first daughter, and the imprisonment of his first son, whom he had groomed to be his successor in the management of the huge Family Business that he created, left Victor Fotso more of a lonely and devastated man.  Unfortunately after Yves Michel Fotso’s imprisonment, the business mogul, Victor Fotso, did not try to groom another close family member or some close family members, to eventually take over the management of his huge estate when he would no longer be there.  He took no action, even as he foresaw that in the absence of Yves Michel Fotso, there would be a big fight in his family over property, when he would pass away.

If Yves Michel Fotso Was Around

Many persons close to the Fotso Family are unanimous that if Yves Michel Fotso, the eldest son of  Victor Fotso, was around when the father died,  the Fotso Family and the Family Business, would today certainly have been different. Yves Michel would definitely have been the Administrator of the estate or Family Business that his late father left behind. His father had already groomed him for that, and as aforementioned, Yves Michel Fotso was already managing pat of the father’s business empire, before running into problems with the State or Government in 2010, over alleged embezzlement of funds when he was General Manger of the then Cameroon Airlines, some years back.

Yves Michel Fotso, who is somebody with a strong character, would definitely have put order in the Fotso family after the father’s death. The issue of a dispute over the funeral programme, as occurred in the family after the passing away of Victor Fotso for example, would not have arisen.  Yves Michel was not only respected in the family by his step mothers, step brothers and step sisters, he was even feared by the step sisters that are calling the shots today.

Without being cynical, it should be said that the imprisonment of Yves Michel Fotso also appears to have been good to some of the step sisters, who saw it as an opportunity for them to position themselves around their multi billionaire father with a huge estate. When Yves Michel Fotso was imprisoned, a letter he wrote to his father, Victor Fotso, leaked. In the letter, Yves Michel denounced what he said was an attempt by some of his sisters (step – sisters) to take advantage of his absence, to try to paint him black to their father. He said he was aware that some of his sisters, especially one whose name he mentioned, had taken advantage of his absence to embark on a smear campaign meant to tarnish his reputation, and manipulate their father to lose trust in him. There is no doubt that those who indulged in the vicious act,   were strategizing to position themselves around Victor Fotso, with an eye on the huge estate.

Yves Michel Fotso, Leaves The Country

Meanwhile, when the court failed to order the release of Yves Michel Fotso from prison, even after he paid back into the State Treasury the money he was charged to had allegedly embezzled when he was General Manager of CAMAIR, his father along the line contacted the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, who knew him so well, to plead on behalf of his son. What President Biya did in order to avoid being accused of undermining a court decision, was that he signed an order for Yves Michel Fotso who was at the Kondengui Prison, to be evacuated to Morocco, for medical attention.

Victor Fotso wrote a letter to President Biya, thanking him for the great gesture done to him, by authorizing his son to leave the country to Morocco, for medical attention. The letter leaked. Definitely not all of President Biya’s close collaborators were happy with the decision for Yves Michel Fotso to leave the prison. However, Yves Michel Fotso left the country for Morocco, and has since never return to the country.