Bonakama women say “enough!” They took to the streets on Friday, fed up with the water shortage that has lasted months. Bills paid, taps dry—Camwater gives no answers, no water.
On the way to Camwater office, the Colonial Administrator of Kumba I, Ali Anogu, stops them. He tells them to drop their protest and go home. Promise? “We go handle am.” No date, no plan, nothing.
Then the shocker—he gives each woman one small cube of soap. One cube! A token gift for months of thirst and struggle. People online are calling it a “soap bribe.”
Bonakama is just one of many. Barombi Kang and other quarters have waited years for running water. Now, residents trek kilometres to fetch water from streams or drink from dirty, dry wells.
Video clips show women being forced to trash their peace plants in exchange for soap. The streets are talking: Kumba people are tired of promises and empty gestures.
At the end of the day, the question remains: when will our taps run? When will leaders stop giving soap and start giving water?
By Lucas Muma
