![Pa Midiki Bokeng](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Pa_Midiki_Bokeng.jpg)
Kumba is a metropolitan
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in the
Meme department,
Southwest Region, Western
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, referred as "K-town" in local slang. Kumba is the most developed and largest city in the Meme Department and has attracted people from the local villages like
Mbonge
Mbonge is a town, a commune and a clan in Cameroon. The town derives its name as the chief and first major settlement of the Mbonge clan. It was formerly known as Liène during German rule in Cameroon.
See also
*Communes of Cameroon
The Arron ...
, Ekondo Titi, etc. Kumba has an estimated population of about 400,000 with three quarters of this population being youth. As a result of improvement in
infant health care,
rural-urban migration
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...
and
infant mortality
Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...
is falling while
birthrates rise, causing the population of Kumba to increase. The N8 and N16 highways meet at Kumba.
Etymology
The name 'Kumba' originates from the Bafo word 'kumbè', meaning an
umbrella tree
History
According to local mythology, Kumba was founded by the hunter Midiki Bokeng, In his honour a monument has been put up around the Town Green. Kumba was originally a Bafo tribal capital formed after the Mediki wars. Mediki was a Bafo native sent by the Bafo chief Nguti to fight other tribes around the settlement which he did successfully. Mediki fought together with Eseme Modu and capture Territories as far as Ekombe. The settlement of Kumba was capital of former Rio Del Rey Division in
German Cameroon
Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern ...
and continued to exist into the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
period. Abel Mukete, a local Bafo chief, became the head of native authority in the district, beginning in the 1890s and even became the first
Paramount Chief
A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arch ...
in 1929. The title was passed down to his eldest son, John Mukete and mext to Nfon Victor E Mukete (the CEO of
Camtel). The title of the chief of Kumba makes you the Paramount Chief of the Bafo people.
On the 24th October 2020, a
mass shooting
There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...
took place at a school. 7 died and 13 were injured.
Economy
Kumba is a trade centre for
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
, palm oil and rubber, and has a
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
industry as well. Kumba is a local
road junction
A junction is where two or more roads meet.
History
Roads began as a means of linking locations of interest: towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junctions often led ...
, making it the main commercial town in
Anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
Cameroon. It has two main markets, Kumba Market and Fiango Market, and several smaller markets created by farmers who bring food directly from their farms, such as the Mbonge Road market, Three Corners market, and the Back Market. Due to the high level of activity in the city, it has attracted the
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n traders, particularly the
Igbo
Igbo may refer to:
* Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria
* Igbo language, their language
* anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria
See also
* Ibo (disambiguation)
* Igbo mythology
* Igbo music
* Igbo art
*
* Igbo-Ukwu, a ...
and
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
who own more than 60% of the shops in the town, according to a 2011 survey. Trade is controlled by the Kumba City Council, it provides the majority of money for the council. Most of the people in Kumba are farmers and therefore Kumba has become a major trade centre to its neighbouring towns and cities and also to some neighbouring countries including
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
,
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
and
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
.
Geography
Kumba is the largest town in the Meme Department and
Southwest Region of
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. It is situated on flat lands around the Buea Road area with hills around Fiango and Mbonge Road. There are three main water bodies:
Lake Barombi Mbo
Lake Barombi Mbo or Barombi-ma-Mbu is a lake near Kumba in the Southwest Region, Cameroon, Southwest Region of Cameroon. It is located in the Cameroon line, Cameroon volcanic chain, and is the largest volcanic lake in this region. It is one of th ...
, which is the largest volcanic lake in Cameroon and a
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
, Kumba Water that passes through Buea Road at the Kumba Mbeng bridge, And the Mbanga Water, running through the city, the local nickname of the Mbanga is the Mabonjise. Most major roads to the nearby villages start at Kumba, running to the
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
at
Mamfe
Mamfe or Mamfé is a city in and the capital of Manyu, a division of the Southwest Region in Cameroon. It is from the border of Nigeria, on the Manyu River. It has a population of 36,500 (2017 estimate).
It is known as a centre for traditiona ...
, the
Korup National Park
Korup National Park is in the Southwest Province of Cameroon and extends over 1,260 km2 of mostly undisturbed primary forest. It is reputedly one of Africa’s oldest and richest tropical forests in terms of floral and faunal diversity. It is ...
at
Mundemba
Mundemba is a town in Southwest Region, of Cameroon and the capital of the Ndian Division. The headquarters of Korup National Park are located in Mundemba. The separate village of Manja is nowadays practically an extension of Mundemba.
People ...
, and
Mount Koupe to the east.
File:Crater Lake, Kumba.jpg, Crater Lake, Kumba
File:Forest Reserve, Lake Barombi.jpg, Forest Reserve, Lake Barombi
File:Bakundu Forest Reserve, Lake Barombi.jpg, Bakundu Forest Reserve, Lake Barombi
File:Full extent, Lake Barombi.jpg, Lake Barombi
File:Giant Pyroclastic deposit, Kumba.jpg, Pyroclastic deposit, Kumba
Transport
Kumba is the terminus of a branch railway of the western system of
Camrail
Camrail is a company operating passenger and freight traffic between the two largest cities in Cameroon and several smaller cities. The company was formed in 1999 and granted a 20-year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway. The compa ...
. Kumba has three major motor parks: one situated at Buea road in Barombi Kang, the second at Fiango (Three Corners), and the third on Mbonge road (Mile One).
File:Dans les routes embourbées de Kumba4.jpg, Transport in Kumba in the rainy season
File:Dans les routes embourbées de Kumba.jpg
File:Dans les routes embourbées de Kumba1.jpg
File:Dans les routes embourbées de Kumba2.jpg
Government
Kumba is the capital of the Meme department of the
Southwest Region. It has three sub-divisional councils: Kumba 1 (Kumba Town-Kake, a part of Buea Road), Kumba 2 (Kosala, Hausa-quarters and Fiango) and Kumba 3 (Three Corners, Mambanda and a part of Buea Road) Each has a local mayor. The town is also run by a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
appointed Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) and a
government delegate.
Languages
The majority of the Kumba people speak
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
and to a small extent,
French, and a sizeable amount of indigenous languages, most presently the
Bafaw,
Bakundu,
Bakossi and
Mbonge
Mbonge is a town, a commune and a clan in Cameroon. The town derives its name as the chief and first major settlement of the Mbonge clan. It was formerly known as Liène during German rule in Cameroon.
See also
*Communes of Cameroon
The Arron ...
.
The ethnic groups of Kumba are the
Bafaw and the Bakundus. Bafaw is an ethnic group who speak Lifaw, a language similar to
Duala, and the Bakundu ethnic group who speak the Bakundu language(Orocko language), Mboh, Bakundu Language and
Bakossi, and certainly
Southern Bantoid
Southern Bantoid (or South Bantoid) is a branch of the Bantoid language family. It consists of the Bantu languages along with several small branches and isolates of eastern Nigeria and west-central Cameroon (though the affiliation of some branc ...
. Due to the city's cosmopolitan nature, the Bafaw and the Bakundu now form just a percentage of the general population of the city, and have lost many aspects of their culture, except for their language which is spoken mostly by the elderly and some of the younger generation.
See also
*
Railway stations in Cameroon
The list of railway stations in Cameroon includes:
Stations served by passenger trains
Towns served by rail
Existing
( gauge plantation railway)
* Limbe - port, terminal, cement works
----
( gauge)
----
* Nkongsamba (W) – railhead ...
References
{{Authority control
Communes of Southwest Region (Cameroon)