Kie Bolo Guoro CAMEROON Centro Sur Kié-Ntem Abia Temelon Elonesang Añisok Acom Esong Andoc Ebongo Ebebiyín Tool GABON KIÉ-NTEM PROVINCE 0 10km 0 Micomeseng Mimbamengui Ncue Hotel Saturno San Carlos Mfaman Niefang Amwang 10 miles CAMEROON Afangui Obuc Reserva Natural del Monte Temelón Nsang Wele-Nzas Piedra Bere Natural Monument Ndumensoc Mengomeyén Oboronco Kie-Ossi border crossing de facto border Kie-Ossi border crossing Biyabiyan Etetam-Ngon Lake Kye Effak border crossing Moyo de facto border Alen Angok Falls Ngong Ngosoc Nonkieng Trilith of Mbam Mbam Benito (Uoro) 206
9 p Kié-Ntem Province Kié-Ntem Province is in the far northeast of mainland Río Muni. This is a land of wide open spaces, unexplored forest and cross-border trade. Far less hot and wet than the coastal region, Kié-Ntem is a great place to camp, look for rare wildlife or perhaps even practise your French. It shares a northern border with Cameroon, and an eastern border with Gabon (South Province and Woleu-Ntem Province respectively). Domestically, travelling south from this province you enter Wele-Nzas, and heading west you reach Centro Sur Province. The capital city is Ebebiyín, located in the very northeast of the province, sitting on the border of <strong>Equatorial</strong> <strong>Guinea</strong>, Gabon and Cameroon. Other important settlements in the province include Micomeseng and Ncue. Official government estimates put the population at around a quarter of a million, with Ebebiyín being the largest settlement, although accurate population figures for the town are impossible to find. The Reserva Natural del Monte Temelón (page 201) and the Piedra Bere Natural Monument (pages 204–5) both straddle the border between this province and Wele-Nzas. Note that there are no tour operators based in Kié-Ntem Province. You are advised to make arrangements for visiting the area through companies based in Malabo (page 65) or Bata (page 152) before your arrival. HISTORY As with Wele-Nzas, Kié-Ntem has been inhabited for thousands of years but came very late to the ‘Scramble for Africa’. Similar to its southern neighbour, it is likely that Pygmy groups had the space to themselves for almost 15 millennia until the arrival of Bantu groups from the northwest. The Bissio ethnic group, now resident in the coastal regions of Río Muni, may have transited through Kié-Ntem in search of a new home, having been displaced from their homeland in Ebolowa, southern Cameroon, by other more powerful ethnic groups. More recently, Kié-Ntem has been the source of some tension between <strong>Equatorial</strong> <strong>Guinea</strong> and its neighbours Cameroon and Gabon. In January 2014 a deal negotiated by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) was supposed to come into effect that allowed the free movement of people and goods across all members’ borders. Both <strong>Equatorial</strong> <strong>Guinea</strong> and Gabon, who have far stronger economies than their other African neighbours, have blocked the deal for fear of being flooded with immigrants. This has led to huge border queues at Kie-Ossi in Cameroon. If seeking to cross at this point, be sure to seek local advice first, or check the status on http:// africabordermonitor.com. Kié-Ntem Province HISTORY 9 207
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