Millionaire rancher probed for seizing land and cattle from tribesmen

A group of cattle herders in western Cameroon who claim to have been victimised by a millionaire landowner are finally having their case heard by a government commission set up to settle the 17-year-old dispute. The M'Bororo are semi-nomadic Fulani people whose main economic activity is cattle-raising. They were given rights over pasture lands in the mountains of Northwest Province by the British colonial government after moving into the lush region from the north of the country in the 17th century. However, in 1986 a commercial ranch was established in Ndawara, 70km east of the provincial capital Bamenda. This signalled the start of a bitter and often violent dispute between its owner Alhadji Baba Ahmadou Danpullo, and the M'Bororo herders. Danpullo is a millionaire businessmen and a prominent member of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party. He has business interests in South Africa, Europe and the United States and travels on a diplomatic passport. The M'Bororo claim that over the last 17 years he has seized their land, cattle, property and even their women. They also allege that he has ordered the beating and false imprisonment of individuals who oppose him. The tribesmen accuse Danpullo of using his money and influence to gain government protection and effective immunity from the law. For his part, Danpullo has pursued a string of prosecutions against M'Bororos. He claims the cattle herders have damaged his property and slandered his name. The running dispute came to a head in last year when four M'Bororo youths were arrested and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for their part in a raid on his Ndawara Ranch. The case resulted in international publicity for the plight of the M'Bororo. Amnesty International and Survival International, a non-governmental organisation which defends the rights of tribal people, both alleged that the four youths were victims of human rights abuse. Amnesty particularly condemned the alleged torture of Ousman Haman, one of the four youths arrested in May 2002 and subsequently convicted. "According to his lawyer, he was tortured by the gendarmes following his arrest," Amnesty said. "He was reportedly beaten on the soles of his feet 150 times using a cane and flogged while being ordered to jump on sand". Such high profile pressure broke the silence and prompted the authorities to investigate the M'Bororos' claims. A delegate from the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries was sent to Ndawara and reported a few days later that "during expansions [of the ranch] several Fulani families have been displaced and moved along with thousands of cattle. The secretive manner of the management of this ranch has left us unable to have facts and figures on activities that go on there". The delegate travelled on horse back around the perimeter of the ranch and found that Danpullo had encroached "two to three km into the communal grazing lands." He concluded that "this expansion has been undertaken in total disregard for all formal regulations and procedures". The report went on to explain how four youths ( Haman and his three companions) "pulled down some fences and destroyed a wooden herdsman's house in an attempt to chase away the intruders." Noting allegations that one of the youths had been "arrested and seriously tortured," the delegate said the situation was causing "a lot of anxiety, tension and uneasiness in the hither-to peaceful Fulani community". He urged that a commission of inquiry be set up to investigate further. More than a year later, at the beginning of August 2003, this government task force was finally set up and sent to Bamenda to begin its work. The commission is headed by Justice Jani, an Anglophone judge who hails from Bamenda with a reputation for personal integrity. A source close to the commission told IRIN that hundreds of local people had testified before it. Danpullo had been summoned to give evidence, but he had so far failed to appear, the source added.. The commission interrupted its work on 22 August to return to the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, but one of its members, Colonel Ousman Bobo, the commander of the gendarmerie in Bamenda, said "we are not yet through with our investigation". Bobo said the commission would return to complete its work at a date that has yet to be established. The herders are hoping for compensation for the land and cattle which they claim Danpulllo has taken from them. One M'Bororo man who now lives in Europe said that whatever the result of the enquiry, the setting up of the commission had proved that Danpullo no longer was no longer an "untouchable citizen" and that his grip on power was waning.