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    Professional translator, freelance writer and a regular contributor to THE POST newspaper. Lives in Douala, Cameroon
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February 2008

Saturday, February 16, 2008

FON DOH’S INDICTMENT AS METAPHOR OF THE EROSION OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY

BY CANUTE TANGWA (February 16, 2008)

Traditional authority in Cameroon and elsewhere is shrouded in myths. The Fon, Chief or King never dies. He disappears! The King is dead, long live the King!  A Fon eating in public is as rare as the tear of a dog. Shaking hands with the Fon in public is an abomination, to say the least. This explains why Fon Achirimbi of Bafut allegedly had reservations shaking hands with a female British royalty! Everywhere a Fon goes, his subjects and those who know prostrate. The King is God’s representative on earth. Almost all peoples extol the divine right of Kings. This notion has been abusively stretched in Africa to include sanguinary dictators.

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