The inhabitants of Dikolo, a small district nestled in the heart of Douala, gathered on Sunday, May 14th to mark one year of the brutal eviction of which they had been victims in May 2022. The city authorities had allocated the land they consider their village to a private promoter who intends to build a large hotel there.
In Dikolo, a small land island wedged between the residential districts of Bali and Bonanjo, nature has taken over. On just over four hectares, there is only a brush as far as the eye can see. “All the houses have been destroyed, there is greenery everywhere, trees have grown, grass has grown, the land has become a kind of virgin forest”, describes Patrick Moundissa Bell, representative of the victims of Dikolo.
Dikolo housed up to 1,000 inhabitants just a year ago. Today, all of them have been scattered all over the city. But on the site, one last fact of resistance: Étienne, who says he has nowhere to go, has erected a 6 m2 plank hut there. He lives there alone, his wife and children having been forced to find refuge elsewhere. “I did not leave, I never left because I feel that I am at home, he testifies. Someone came and out of mischievous duty kicked me out. I said I wasn’t leaving because I’m not leaving Douala. I’ve been here ever since, never moved. »
The inhabitants of Dikolo had been cleared out to make way for a vast hotel complex project that was announced. For now, they have managed to stop the start of the project and maintain their demands. “What we are waiting for is repair, it is compensation, it is to repair all the damage we have suffered and to give us back our so that we can rebuild our houses, explains Patrick Moundissa Bell. We are determined to return to our lands, even if it means losing our lives. »
At the height of the affair, in May 2022, the government announced the opening of an investigation into what then looked like a scandal. In Dikolo, these results are still awaited.