The 26th Fon of Bamendankwe was presented to the public Wednesday, September 2, 2020. The official, yet traditional, ceremony at the esplanade of the Fon’s palace unfolded under the watchful eyes of the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Mezam, Simon Emile Mooh, among other administrative, traditional and municipal authorities.

Fon Forchesiri III succeeds his father, Fon Forsuh Nforngwa II, who ruled Bamendakwe for over three decades.

The ‘disappearance’ of Fon Forsuh Nforngwa II was announced early Wednesday morning. The announcement was followed by the expression of grief from the Bamendakwe people who had converged on the palace from far and near.

“The high point of the event was when the new Fon was brought out to the arena to be symbolically ‘stoned’ before being taken back into the inner chambers of the palace,” said Bamendakwe elite, Solomon Mforgham Tembang. “This, according to the customs and tradition of the Bamendankwe people, is symbolic in that it empowers the Fon and indicates that the entire population of Bamendankwe has given him absolute power and authority over the village. It also means henceforth the Fon would have to be respected without question and becomes the custodian of the Bamendankwe tradition and the link between his subjects and their ancestors.”

The villagers went to nearby streams where they took off their sackcloth and ashes. They later returned to the Bamendakwe palace where they celebrated the appearance of their new Fon.

Christened Amah George Nforgwa at birth, Fon Forchesiri III holds a BA in Banking and Finance. He is currently a student at the Advanced School of Administration and Magistracy, ENAM.

Following yesterday’s enthronement, The Guardian Post quotes Tantoh Emmanuel, president of the Bamendankwe Cultural and Development Association, BAMEDCA, as saying: “It has been a very successful event. We started here in the morning and we saw men and women come almost naked. Men were putting on their shorts and the women were completely if not half naked. This has come to show that the culture of the Bamendankwe man is still alive and with the coming of our new Fon you can see that there is total happiness and unity amongst the Bamendankwe people.

“The turnout was so wonderful. As the BAMEDCA president, I am so impressed. Looking at the turnout, I believe that the development of these people is going to follow, from the way things are beginning to change. In a nutshell I think we have better days ahead.

“I want to encourage and call on my brothers and sisters that let’s together join hands and give our new Fon the respect that he deserves so that together we can build a wonderful Fondom. I pray that the Lord Almighty will grant our new Fon, HRH Forchesiri III, the wisdom that he deserves in order to accomplish the great mission that has been assigned to him by his village. I think everybody leaving here, including the SDO, is happy and everybody who was here has witnessed a wonderful occasion.”

Bamendankwe is bordered to the North by Awing and Santa, South West by Nkwen, South East by Akum, West by Bambili, Babanki Tungoh, Balikumbat and Banjah.

“The village is headed by a Fon. It has 36 quarters headed by quarter heads. These quarter heads and a traditional council assist the Fon in administering the village. Bamendankwe is the village that hosted the administrative headquarters of the former Bamenda division and currently hosts that of the North West region. In this regard, the importance of Bamendankwe dates back from the time of the German administration of the Western Grassland plateau in the year 1902,” Tembang says.