Tombel is a town and
commune in the
Southwest Region of
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
, in the north of the
Mungo Valley. The town is traditionally part of the
Bakossi people
The Bakossi people are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group that live on the western and eastern slopes of Mount Mwanenguba and Mount Kupe in the Bakossi Mountains of Cameroon. They number about 200,000, mostly engaged in subsistence farming but als ...
's country, but now has a significant population of other tribes from other regions of Cameroon.
[
In late 1966, tension between some Bakossi indigenes and some Bamilekes resulted in an outbreak of violence. This outbreak was the remnants of the ]Union of the Peoples of Cameroon
The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( - UPC) is a political party in Cameroon. It was one of the main belligerents in the Cameroon War.
Foundation
The UPC was founded on 10 April 1948, at a meeting in the bar ''Chez Sierra'' in Bassa. Twelve ...
's political movement. Losses were counted on both sides, mostly from the Bamilekes with 236 settlers dead. The Bakossi indigenes argued that some Bamilekes were forcing a political course that threatened the integrity of the Bakossi land and people. In response, the army moved in, rounded up all able-bodied Bakossi men in the Tombel area, and placed them in detention camps, where many were severely tortured to obtain confessions. Eventually, 143 Bakossi men were put on trial and 17 were sentenced to death, while 75 received sentences of life imprisonment.[
Lying immediately to the south of ]Mount Kupe
Mount Kupe or Mont Koupé is a plutonic mountain in the Western High Plateau of Cameroon, part of the Cameroon line of volcanoes. It is the highest of the Bakossi Mountains, rising to .
The mountain is revered by the local Bakossi people as the ...
, Tombel receives little direct sunshine, particularly in the rainy season, due to constant cloud cover. The town has suffered from persistent shortage of water supply, despite attempts by the women of the town to improve the situation.
References
{{Communes of Southwest Region, Cameroon
Communes of Southwest Region (Cameroon)