A decisive order from the powerful traditional regulatory society of the Nso people, Nwerong Nso, has banned churches and mosques from charging burial fees in all public cemeteries on Nso land, a move that could strain relations with religious authorities at a delicate moment for the Catholic Church.
The proclamation, issued on Ntangrin, (Wednesday) 4 March 2026, states that no religious institution has the right to demand payment for grave spaces on land freely granted by the Fon and Nwerong for communal use. The directive takes immediate effect.
At the heart of the order is a blunt argument. The land on which many cemeteries stand was not sold to churches. It was handed over without charge for the benefit of the community. As such, Nwerong insists, no church or mosque can lawfully commercialise burial space on it.
The traditional authority accuses some religious institutions of turning cemeteries into revenue streams, demanding substantial sums from grieving families before permitting burials. In Nso, cases of charges reaching 100,000 FCFA have been cited.
The contrast with practices in Bamenda is even starker. In parts of the regional capital, some churches are reported to demand up to 500,000 FCFA for a grave. Others charge around 200,000 FCFA, sometimes with the condition that families agree to share the grave space with another body in future. For many households already strained by economic hardship, such costs are crushing.
Nwerong’s message is uncompromising. Burial grounds in Nso, it argues, were historically established as places of hospitality, especially for strangers who died far from home. They were never conceived as commercial property. By banning fees outright, the society is asserting that communal land cannot become a source of private profit.
The timing adds a layer of sensitivity. The Catholic community in the North West is preparing for the episcopal ordination of an Nso son as Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda, a moment of pride for many in the Fondom. At the same time, anticipation is building around the forthcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to Cameroon.
With global attention expected to focus on the Church’s moral voice during the papal visit, a public dispute over burial fees on freely granted traditional land could prove uncomfortable. The issue touches not only on money, but on authority, ownership and respect for custom.
Nwerong has warned that any church or mosque that continues to charge for graves in public cemeteries will be acting in defiance of traditional authority. Residents have been urged to report violations.
For now, no formal response has been issued by church authorities. Yet the directive places religious institutions in a tight position. To comply may mean losing a significant source of income tied to cemetery management. To resist risks being seen as profiting from land they did not buy and confronting one of the most powerful traditional institutions in Nso.
As Nso prepares to celebrate one of its own ascending to the episcopacy and as Cameroon readies for a papal visit, the ban on burial fees has opened a sensitive front where faith, finance and tradition meet. How it is resolved could shape relations between palace and pulpit well beyond this moment.
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices web
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