Kumba is a metropolitan city in the Meme department, Southwest Region, Western Cameroon, commonly referred to as "K-town" colloquially. Kumba is the largest and most developed city in the Meme Department and is increasingly drawing in residents from the local villages such as Mbonge. It is also the largest urban area in the South-West. Kumba has an estimated population of about 400,000 with three quarters of this population being young due to advancement in medicine and lowering infant mortality. The N8 and N16 highways meet at Kumba. Etymology The name 'Kumba' originates from the Bafo word 'kumbè', meaning an umbrella tree History According to local mythology, Kumba was founded by the hunter Midiki Bokeng, In his honour a monument has been put up around the Town Green. Kumba was originally a Bafo tribal capital formed after the Mediki wars. Mediki was a Bafo native sent by the Bafo chief Nguti to fight other tribes around the settlement which he did successfully. Mediki fought together with Eseme Modu and capture territories as far as Ekombe. The settlement of Kumba was capital of former Rio Del Rey Division in German Cameroon and continued to exist into the British period. Abel Mukete, a local Bafo chief, became the head of native authority in the district, beginning in the 1890s and even became the first Paramount Chief in 1929. The title was passed down to his eldest son, John Mukete and mext to Nfon Victor E Mukete (the CEO of Camtel). The chief of Kumba is the paramount chief of the Bafo. On the 24th October 2020, a mass shooting took place at a school, 7 died and 13 were injured. Economy Kumba is a trade centre for cocoa, palm oil and rubber, and has a timber industry as well. Kumba is a local road junction, making it the main commercial town in Anglophone Cameroon. It has two main markets, Kumba Market and Fiango Market, and several smaller markets created by farmers who bring food directly from their farms, such as the Mbonge Road market, Three Corners market, and the Back Market. Due to the high level of activity in the city, it has attracted Nigerian traders, particularly the Igbo and Yoruba who own more than 60% of the shops in the town, according to a 2011 survey. Trade is controlled by the Kumba City Council, trade revenue accounts for most of the city's