Cameroon's Minister of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, has annulled two disputed land titles used by a group of individuals to seize land in Ewonda, a village in Buea, Fako Department, Southwest Region of Cameroon. These individuals were attempting to create an illegal housing development called Lower Ewonda.
The decision was formalized by a ministerial order published in Yaoundé on March 4, 2026, declaring Land Certificates No. 016325 and 016331/Fako null and void.
In a letter to representatives of the Lower Ewonda village community, Minister Eyebe Ayissi justified the cancellation by citing a petition and investigations that revealed serious irregularities in the process of issuing the titles. Article 27 of Decree No. 76-165 of April 27, 1976, which sets out the conditions for obtaining land titles in Cameroon and establishes the legal framework for canceling irregular titles, was mentioned.
The ministry's investigations revealed that the titles had initially been issued to individuals wishing to establish a new village, Lower Ewonda, on land belonging to private individuals and the local community. The ministerial order highlights irregularities in the interpretation and execution of a decision by the Buea Court of First Instance, as well as "undue appropriation of property belonging to third parties" by the titleholders, misleading the administration.
The challenge had been brought to the ministry's attention by a request from Me Nyonbadmia Evine, representing Joseph Mokake Luma and other landowners. An investigation mission was sent to Buea in May 2025, and its findings, along with reports from the ministry's regional delegation, served as the basis for the cancellation decision.
The minister reaffirmed that the land titles were invalid as soon as the irregularities were discovered, specifying that the parcels concerned would revert to their original legal status as state land. The administrative authorities in Fako have been tasked with implementing this decision.
This cancellation puts an end to the Lower Ewonda establishment project and is a victory for local landowners who opposed what they saw as an attempt to grab their land. Land disputes remain frequent in Cameroon, particularly in rapidly developing regions such as Buea. The complexity of the Cameroonian legal system, which combines customary and written law, is a source of disputes.
