To Cameroonians, the Bafut Palace is more than a historical landmark; it is the heart of a living culture, where rituals bind the present to the past. Yet today, the palace stands under siege, its legacy threatened by the Anglophone crisis that has engulfed parts of Cameroon.

As artists across the world sampled Manu Dibango’s ‘Soul Makossa’ for global hits, his original contribution faded into the background—a powerful metaphor for how Cameroon’s cultural exports are often consumed without recognition of their origins.

How Israel, France, and the US shape the Anglophone Crisis.