Cameroon:Chief SML Endeley gone, but his legacy lives on !

By    Smart Njikang Gabriel , Kain Blessing Tung and Arrey Bate Arrey,UB Journalism Students on Internship

  Retired Chief Justice and Paramount Chief of Buea, Samuel Moka  Lifafa  Endeley ,92, who died last July 7,was on Saturday   during  a massively attended funeral service  at Bongo Square , Buea, decorated posthumously  with the Grand Cordon of the Cameroon Order of Merit, by Vice-Prime minister,  Minister-delegate in charge of Relations with the National Assembly Amadou  Ali, sitting in for  Cameroon President Paul Biya.

      The medal, which is one of the highest in the country reserved for achievers of exceptional class, was awarded to the fallen legal luminary and traditional ruler in recognition of what was variously described as his enormous contributions towards the promotion of   unity, development and justice in Cameroon.

      Chief Endeley -also called Nakuve- was officially buried on Saturday at his Mokunda Palace. But rumors kept circulating that he had days before been interred, especially as the casket was not displayed  in public during the funeral service at Bongo Square, attended by thousands of mourners from far and wide. The rumors became even stronger when the representative of the Head of State, Amadou Ali pinned the medal on the board that carried the picture of the deceased, instead of the coffin. According to some Bakweri elite, the casket of the deceased could not be displayed in public because he was not an ordinary person.

     The posthumous decoration followed a funeral mass  officiated by a college of Presbyterian  pastors led by  the Right Rev. Fonki Samuel ,Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon(PCC) and tributes  from various speakers who included the Secretary-General of the ruling CPDM, Jean Kuete and the Chief Justice of Cameroon’s  Supreme Court Daniel Mokube Sone

Pres. Biya's rep.Amadou Ali  being given mike to decorate late  Chief Endeley

      Before the funeral mass, the deceased retired Chief Justice was accorded judicial honors at the Southwest Court of Appeal in Buea, at a brief  a solemn ceremony chaired by Chief justice Bechem Eyong Oneke, president of the court. Magistrates and lawyers including the president of Cameroon bar Association Jackson Kamga filed past the casket of the deceased paying their last respects; and then the funeral convoy made a stop at Buea Mountain Club, where the late Chief Justice was prominent member, for more honors.

     In his sermon, titled “Teach us to number our days” at the Bongo Sqaure Requiem mass, the Very Rev. Dr.Nyansako Ni-Nku retired PCC Moderator who drew inspiration from Psalms 90:12, described the fallen king as a man who lived his life in the fear of the Lord.

Cross-section of dignitaries at the  Bongo Square grandstand

   According to the moderator emeritus, Nakuve was “a great patriot, and a devout Christian. He appealed to all and sundry to cultivate the spirit of forgiveness and reconcile with those they have problems with, in order to receive God’s mercy.

    Eulogizing, the representative of the Fako Elites, Senator Peter Mafany Musonge said Nakuve has left a vacuum that will be hard to fill, describing him as someone who was humble, sociable, and   very respectful.

According to Senator Musonge, the fallen hero was behind several projects aimed at enhancing the development and the empowerment of Bakweri people, such as the Fako Loans Scholarship Scheme, which enabled most of Fako children to be in great positions today. Senator Musonge regretted that Chief Endeley left them just when they are facing many challenges, but hoped that they would draw inspiration from his works.

   Speechifying on behalf of the Fako traditional rulers, Chief Njombe Njoke who is President of the Buea Chiefs Conference said the late Chief Endeley was their Chief Priest and a principled servant. He added that Nakuve was “the epitome of our ancestral values, a man who defended the sacred principles of the culture and everyone wanted his services as well as his expertise”

    Taking the floor, the President of Southwest Chief’s conference Senator Nfon Victor E. N. Mukete said the fallen hero was a man who was born great, who achieved greatness and had greatness. He commended his leadership qualities and selflessness.

Prince Ngomba Endeley (white shirt)  joins Bakweri cultural dancers

     In his tribute, the President of the Cameroon Bar Association, Batonnier Jackson Kamga saluted the legal expertise of the late Chief Justice, noting that he was very instrumental in the   creation of the Cameroon Bar Association.

    The second part of the event which was specifically for the States honors, had speeches from the Secretary General of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) Jean Nkuété, the First President of the Supreme Court , Chief Justice Daniel Mekobe Sone  who all described King Endeley as a major  nation-builder .Jean Kuete,in presenting the deceased’s political contributions ,said Chief Endeley was a major actor of the unity of the Cameroon and an ardent supporter of President Biya’s vision of transforming Cameroon into a modern country.  “We will find it hard to recover from the shock of the death of Chief Endeley”, the Secretary-General of the CPDM voiced out.

Sen. Moki congratulates Rev Dr. Nyansako-ni -Nku for his mind-searching sermon

     Describing the fallen hero’s rich legal and judicial career, Supreme Court Chief Justice Mekobe Sone noted that Chief Endeley was an impartial judge with extraordinary qualities, who will be remembered for fostering the ideals of justice in Cameroon. " He is dead but his legacy lives on", he remarked. 
    A message of condolence from the President Paul Biya and wife addressed to the Endeley’s family, was read by the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Mr. Zang III,in which the presidential couple described the deceased Paramount Chief as  a multi-talented, patriotic and  committed to the service of the nation.

    Nakuve’s memories will be remembered for the role he played in the border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria and his punctual nature at each Public event. During his life time, the fallen hero occupied several positions; he was the pioneer Cameroonian Pharmacist, First Cameroon judge and chief Justice in West Cameroon, first lawyer to be appointed to the bench and the first president of the Grand Fako Section of the CPDM. Hel Moka is survived by six-children, twelve grand-children, and six great grand-children; and a host of family members to mourn him.