The Mbanga Electoral District Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, Joseph Takam, collapsed and died during a visit to the Douala 5 Sub-divisional Office, June 18.

Takam, who was also the 1st Deputy Mayor of the Mbanga Council in the Mungo Division, Littoral Region, is reported to have suddenly slumped and passed out, during a visit to the Douala 5 Sub-divisional Office at Bonamoussadi Quarters, in the afternoon of June 18.

The Chairperson of Information and Media in the SDF Shadow Cabinet, Jean Robert Wafo, who is also Deputy Mayor at the Douala II Urban Council, confirmed the death of his comrade, Takam, in a communiqué he issued in the evening of June 18.

According to family sources at the decease’s residence at Bepanda Quarters in Douala V, at about 1.00pm on that fateful day, Takam’s driver drove him from his consultancy office at Akwa in Douala I, to the office of the DO of Douala 5 at Bamoussadi. He was a party in a land dispute that was being handled by the DO’s office.

The DO of Douala 5 confirmed to reporters that, upon arrival, Takam first entered his office where they exchanged greetings and chatted a bit. The DO reportedly told him that the file of the land matter involving him was being handled by one of his collaborators.

Takam then left for the office of the said collaborator in charged of the file.

What the two discussed was not immediately known, but it is said that when Takam was about leaving the office, he collapsed. The panick-stricken collaborator of the DO rushed and alerted his boss, who came and saw the situation and reportedly made an emergency call to a Medical Centre at Bonamoussadi.

By the time the medical personnel arrived some 15 minutes later, Takam had given up the ghost. The DO disclosed to reporters that when he rushed into his collaborator’s office, he saw Takam slumped in a chair, but that his heart beat had not yet stopped. Soon afterwards, it was all over with him.

Takam’s corpse was transported to the mortuary of the Military Hospital at Bonamoussadi.

Cause of death

The exact cause of Takam’s sudden death is not yet known, though the member of the SDF Shadow Cabinet, Jean Robert Wafo, in his communiqué talked of a possible cardiac arrest.

The same view that Takam suffered from a heart attack has been expressed by the DO of Douala V and the medical personnel.

However, Takam’s family does not share that view and has demanded for an autopsy to be conducted and are waiting for the result to ascertain the real cause of his death.

Meantime, family members and some sympathisers are already linking the death to the land dispute.

Others are suspecting witchcraft, while others are questioning whether the collaborator of the DO handling the land dispute file made some disclosures to him that provoked the heart attack.

Pillar of Mbanga SDF

In discussion with The Post in Douala June 20, SDF Shadow Cabinet member, Wafo, said the death of Joseph Takam is a big loss to the party.

He said Takam was a pillar of the SDF in Mbanga. Wafo said it was Takam’s strong commitment to the SDF and his hard work for the party that propelled him to the leadership position in the party in Mbanga, as District Chairman.

Takam headed the SDF list at the September 30, 2013, Municipal Elections in Mbanga, in which three parties participated; the CPDM, SDF and Pierre Kwemo’s UMS. The CPDM won the elections by simple majority.

But CPDM Councilors split over an attempt by the Secretariat of their party’s Central Committee in Yaounde, to impose Endale Henriette epse Ejake, as Mayor.

Takam seized the opportunity and exploited the situation to SDF’s advantage.

Takam struck a deal with the faction of CPDM Councilors who were against the candidate that the party’s Central Committee was trying to impose as Mayor.

In the negotiation, Takam pushed the CPDM faction which, in desperation, accepted to cede the post of 1st Deputy Mayor to the SDF.

In return, the candidate of the CPDM faction for the post of Mayor was to get the votes of SDF Councilors, in the election for the post of Mayor.

At the last minute, the Central Committee delegate, who apparently realised from all indications that the candidate of the Central Committee was likely to be defeated in the election, withdrew the candidature of Ejake.

But the terms of the deal between the CPDM faction and SDF faction were respected by both parties.

Hence, an SDF Councilor, Takam, became the 1st Deputy Mayor in a CPDM-run Council, a unique situation across the entire Country.

The general situation is that in Councils where parties won the elections by simple majority, the parties that came second were given the post of 4th or 5th Deputy Mayor.

It would be recalled that at the Douala 5 Urban Council, the CPDM bigwig and Mayor Francoise Foning, even flagrantly refused to allow the post of one of the five Deputy Mayors go to the SDF that came second.