A dramatic turn of events in Douala. The land title of the hotel belonging to businessman and Member of Parliament Jean Claude Feutheu, also known as Claude le Parisien, has been cancelled. This decision, issued by the Minister of Domains, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, follows a request from the ATOU Consulting Firm and puts an end to a 17-year land dispute concerning a strategic site at the Joss roundabout, in the heart of the economic capital.
The case concerns land title n°318/WA granted to Société Hôtelière DJEUGA PALACE, linked to Claude le Parisien. In 2008, the land was classified as a national domain of the 2nd category, that is to say free from any occupation. However, it turned out that it was a dependency of the railway domain of the former REGIFERCAM, protected by a decree of 1926. The ATOU Consulting Firm denounced a provisional concession transformed into a definitive concession under disputed conditions.
The cancellation of the land title is a rare decision with significant consequences for the Cameroonian land landscape. Especially since the figures reveal an acquisition that is, to say the least, advantageous. The site covers 1 hectare 35 ares, whereas the initial concession only covered 5,314 m². More surprisingly, this strategic land was allegedly acquired for only 29 million FCFA, while its value is estimated at over 10 billion FCFA.
This difference in value raises questions about the conditions of the transaction. For some observers, this decision marks a turning point in the management of land disputes in Cameroon. Henri Eyebe Ayissi had already stressed the need to respect the rules of access to land ownership.
The decision allows the Cameroonian State to regain control of a strategic site, considered a residual asset of the former REGIFERCAM. The Minister of Domains had already in the past cancelled or withdrawn land titles deemed to be in dispute or obtained fraudulently. "The public domain cannot be transferred without rigorous verification," said a source close to the case in Yaoundé.
