Football clubs of Douala and the triple hats of John Epee Mandengue

John Epee Mandengue had three hats. He was in the insurance business, then he became a newspaper proprietor (Elimbi newspaper) and finally, he became the philanthropic boss of a tribal based football club called Leopard Football Club of Douala. Leopard Football Club of Douala was not the only tribal oriented club in the city. Within the city of Douala, there are four football teams, built along national or tribal lines. There are: Oryx Football Club, based in Bonaberi, which was at the pinnacle of Cameroonian and African club football in the 60s and even won the first continental club trophy in 1968. Oryx Football Club of Bonaberi was created by and for natives of Bonaberi neighbourhood. Bonaberi neighbourhood, is connected to Douala proper by a bridge called the Wouri Bridge, but some it the Bonaberi Bridge. The second most popular tribal club in the city is that created by the people or natives of the Akwa neighbourhood. The Akwa based club is called Caiman Football Club aka caiman a six heure. She is now playing in division two and occasionally comes to division one, or MTN Elite 1, which is the equivalent of the English premier league. But Caiman Football Club has lost her gusto of the 50’s, 60s and early 70s. The third club of the city is Dynamo Football Club of Douala aka Botafogo.

She is based in a neighbourhood called Nkongmondo or New rail in English. Nkongmondo is a slum caught between the posh neighbourhood of Bonapriso and the seedy neighbourhood of New-bell. She is inhabited by ethnic Bassas, who are presently considered as none natives, because they are either from the Sanaga Maritime, Nkam and Nyong and Nkelle divisions. Most came there some 1 hundred years ago as labourers, brought by the Germans to construct the railroads of East Cameroon, while the most recent group came in the 40s, 50s ,60s and 70s. They were resettled there by the French colonial government and also by the Ahidjo government, especially, during the war of independence in French-speaking Cameroon, which was led by the Union of the Population of Cameroon (UPC) against the French and also against the regime of late El Hadj Amadou Ahidjo. Mr Ahidjo was the first president of French-speaking Republic of Cameroon and also the first president of unified English and French Cameroons. One other thing with the Bassas is that, although some of them are now living on the fringes of the city of Douala, they were the original inhabitants of the city. But they fled the coast and went into the forest, when the Doualas came from the Congo after the implosion of the Congo Empire. The Doualas, who now claims to be the aboriginals of the economic capital of Cameroon, did first settle on along the banks of the River Wouri, before spreading to other pasts of the coast of both English and French Cameroons.