Disruptive colonial boundaries and attempts to resolve land/boundary disputes in the Grasslands of Bamenda, Cameroon

Abstract

The 1990s ushered in an unprecedented wave of violent land/boundary disputes between village-groups in the Grasslands of Bamenda, NorthWest Province of Cameroon, on a scale that had never been witnessed before. Widespread hardship, introduced by the prevailing economic crisis was blamed for these disputes. But on closer examination it became clear that land/boundary disputes in the region have their roots in European colonialism, and derive largely from administrative policies that were disruptive on inter-village boundaries.