Mamfe or Mamfé is a city in and the capital of Manyu, a division of the Southwest Region in

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 from the border of

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 ...

, on the

Manyu River The Manyu River rises near Wabanein the Upper Banyang Subdivision of the Manyu Department of the Southwest Region, Cameroon. The river runs past the southern border of the Mone River Forest Reserve. Below Mamfe, it is joined by rivers draini ...

. It has a population of 36,500 (2017 estimate). It is known as a centre for

traditional religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a prima ...

(e.g., Obasinjom and Ekpe Society) and

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

. Mamfe used to be known for bad infrastructure within the city limits, especially the roads, but in recent times the roads have been tarred and are currently in good condition. The roads leading in and out of the city have also been tarred e.g., Mamfe - Bamenda, Mamfe - Kumba, Mamfe - Ekok. The

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

has maintained a presence in the Mamfe area since they entered the country in 1962. Cultural display in mamfe

Since 2017, Mamfe has been a frequent battleground in the

Anglophone Crisis The Anglophone Crisis (), also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing civil war in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of the 2 ...

. The city saw heavy fighting in December 2017, when the Cameroonian Army battled the

Ambazonia Defence Forces The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia, a self-declared independent state in the Anglophone regions of the former Southern Cameroons, Cameroon. It was formally established by th ...

for control over Mamfe and the surroundings. In May 2020, separatist fighters assassinated the newly-elected mayor, Ashu Priestly Ojong.

Etymology

The name "Mamfe" comes from the ayang language When Germans first arrived in the area via the Cross River, the Germans greeted a local man at the Egbekaw River site who was carrying sand from the shore and tried interrogating him about where they were. The Banyang man didn't understand and only said in his dialect, "Mamfie fah?" ("Where should I put it?"). The Germans heard this as "Mamfe" and named the area so.

Demographics

The Egbekaw village is the native/pioneer of Mamfe town. The inhabitants speak a Bayang language as their mother tongue, called Nyang, although English is the official language spoken along with

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 several other dialects, including Ejagham. The city is also noteworthy for the high proportion of Nigerians who live there.

Education

Mamfe has no university yet, but the Catholic university is now under construction. The Mamfe Girls College was Cameroon's first all-female boarding school. There is also a teachers' training college, and several vocational schools.

Cuisine

Popular local foods in Mamfe include

eru Eru may refer to: People *Eru (singer) (born 1983), Korean singer *Eru Potaka-Dewes (1939–2009), New Zealand actor *Syd Eru (born 1971), New Zealand rugby player Other uses

* Eru (soup), a Cameroonian soup * Eru (vegetable), a tropical Afri ...

and fu-fu, plantains with ndole, and fu-fu and ogbono soup.

Climate

Mamfe has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Am''). As Mamfe is in a river valley, humidity can be over 90% and temperatures can exceed 120 F (49 °C) during the Dry Season (February - April). During the rest of the year, temperatures remain in the 80-90s (27 to 37 °C) and only fall during the Rainy Season, sometimes to 70F (21 °C). The climate can be very uncomfortable for travellers, but tourism is beginning in the area, though small. Points of interest are the old German bridge, the Mamfe Cross, the Mamfe River by boat, and the Mamfe Cathedral. Hotels are few, but can and do accommodate western travellers.

Notable people

George Elokobi George Nganyuo Elokobi (born 31 January 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a defender and is interim manager at Maidstone United. Elokobi moved from his native Cameroon to England at the age of 16, where he e ...

(b. 1986), professional footballer *

Pauline Nalova Lyonga Pauline Nalova Lyonga Egbe is a Cameroonian politician from the Fako division, South West region of Cameroon. She has been the minister of secondary education since the ministerial reshuffle of March 2, 2018. Biography Youth and education A ...

, education minister * Late Chief Solomon Ashu Arrey of Ossing (1905-2005) *Senator Mfaw Tabetando Ndiepnso

References

{{Coord, 5, 46, N, 9, 17, E, region:CM_type:city, display=title Populated places in Southwest Region (Cameroon)