Rev.Fr. Sob Murder case: Priest who presented autopsy report of deceased colleague at funeral dragged to court

Late Rev. Alexander Sob Nougi: His killers are being hunted.

By Christopher Ambe

Rev. Fr.Bernard Asek Tambe, who was  Vicar-General of the Diocese of Buea when Rev. Fr Alexander Sob Nougi  was murdered in 2018 and who presented an autopsy report of his  slain colleague at his funeral mass, will be prosecuted at  the  Buea Military Tribunal ,alongside two other persons, for murder-related charges.

Rev.Fr. Asek Bernard Tambe, kimeng Liberty Song and Lekepih Vincent Fossung are accused of assassination complicity, assassination coaction as well as keeping and carrying illegal arms and ammunitions.

After the conclusion of Preliminary Investigations(PI) into the assassination of Rev.Fr. Sob Nougi, hearing for the murder case was scheduled for last Thursday June 25; but it was adjourned to July 30, because the three accused had not yet been served, according to Barrister Sumelong Henry Awasume, lead counsel for the civil party (the slain priest’s family). Other lawyers for the civil party include Nyonbadmia Evine and John Kameni Sichui.

During the PI,the three accused, who then were defendants, were reportedly on bail.

Rev. Fr. Sob Nougi, 45, was murdered on July 20, 2018 in Muyuka Before his death Rev. Fr.Sob Nougi, a former Catholic Education Secretary for Buea Diocese, was the Parish Priest of Catholic Church Bomaka.

Monseigneur Bushu Immanuel, then Bishop of Buea Diocese, who officiated at the fallen priest’s requiem on August 10, 2018 at the Regina Pacis Cathedral, in Small Soppo Buea, alleged in his homily that the “killers”of  Rev.Fr.Sob Nougi were present at his funeral,but fell short of citing names.

 “Rev. Fr. Sob Nougi was brutally murdered and assassinated, "Bishop Bushu, had declared at the requiem, adding that “We pray for those wicked people who killed him, some of whom are amongst us”

The Bishop even dismissed as fake rumors that Rev.Fr.Sob Nougi had gone to Muyuka to visit his parents, noting that his mother was in Yaounde then.

During the crowd-pulling funeral service for late Rev.Fr.Nougi at the Regina Pacis Cathedral, in Small Soppo Buea, a July 21, 2018 autopsy report of the slain priest had been presented to the thousands of mourners by Rev. Fr.Bernard Asek, then the Vicar General of the Diocese of Buea. The autopsy report had revealed the following:

1.) Father's body received two bullets on either sides of the chest, just around the nipple of his breast. This means that the bullets were shot either by one person or by two persons of the same height.

2.) The bullet on the left side of the chest passed through his body and came out from the back, while the bullet on the right side of the chest had no outlet behind.

3.) The point of entry of bullet on the left side of the chest measured about 20mm in diameter. The conclusion is that the bullets were shot at a close range of about 50 to 70cm from his chest. In fact, it was a point-blank shot which eliminates the hypothesis of a stray bullet.

4.) The bullet shot on the left side of the chest tore through Father's heart leaving a gaping hole which caused instant death.

5) The nature of the shot demonstrates that it was fired by a professional who targeted the heart with the intention to kill. Death was instant from the first bullet.

6.) The weapon used was an assault rifle, not a locally made gun or a pistol.

Rev Fr.Asek had noted: “Finally, the bullet received from the body, came from the shot on the right chest of Father. We need the service of a ballistic expert to determine whether the bullet that passed through the left side of the chest was similar to that retrieved from the body, so as to determine whether or not it was shot by one person”

Rev.Fr.Asek had said “the church is interested to know the person who killed Father; because of that, a case has been established”, adding,“The judicial police have already started the proceedings.”

It is the results of the investigations that have led to Fr Asek and the two others to criminally charged. The two others were said to have been with Rev. Fr.Sob  Nougi ,the time of  he was slain.

 The Catholic Community,the family of the deceased  and the public in general have since been regretting the loss of  Rev.Fr. Sob Nougi, who was described as a very refined, intelligent and committed priest.

He was buried near Regina Pacis Cathedral,Small Soppo.

Rev.Fr. Sob Nougi was born in 1973 in Muyuka; after his high school studies, he enrolled into the Major Seminary in Bambui in 1993. He was ordained Priest in 2005 in the Diocese of Obala,in the Centre Region. He was aslo a University of Buea PhD student ( in education) at the time of his death.

University of Buea: Dismissed Associate Professor says he was betrayed

By Christopher Ambe

 Dr. Sango Martin Ndeh, Associate Professor of history, in the Faculty of Arts of the University of Buea was Monday June 22, dismissed by President Paul Biya from the corps of Higher Education for attempting to obstruct the smooth running of the   varsity’s 2018/2019 re-sit examinations.

 President Biya dismissed the associate professor based, among other grounds, on the recommendations of the Minister of Higher Education and the Disciplinary Committee of UB.

But the dismissed associate professor, who is an ex-student of the University of Buea and had taught there for fifteen years, has blamed his removal on regional favoritism and betrayal.

Dr. Sango, feeling betrayed by some officials of the Higher Education Teachers’ Syndicate (SYNES) University of Buea Chapter, told this reporter, Tuesday June 23 that he was surprised that Dr. James Abangma, SYNES UB president who had signed that teachers should not participate in the re-sit exams citing insecurity, was not summoned to face the UB disciplinary committee.

Dr. Sango who was Vice President of SYNES UB and reportedly in Yaounde when his President called for the boycott of resit exams,regetted that, while others respected the SYNES president’s instruction, Dr. Abangma instead went behind, set his exams and marked their scripts without issuing a communiqué revoking his decision.

 “That was open betrayal… the President of SYNES UB ought to have issued another decision revoking the previous one. But he did not!”

As Vice-President of SYNES UB,Dr. Sango reportedly told the UB Disciplinary Committee when he was summoned for not participating in the re-sit, that he was in Yaounde when SYNES UB took the decision for teachers not to get involved in the resit,and as an official of the teachers’ syndicate he could not violate the boycott order.  

In addition, he said where he was living during the lockdown period is Bolifamba (Mile 16, Buea), a risky neighborhood, widely considered to be a hideout for separatist fighters.

“How could I leave Mile 16 during the lockdown and go for the re-sit with the insecurity?” he asked rhetorically.

Dr. Sango, who faced the disciplinary committee for the second time since he became UB lecturer before his dismissal, disclosed: “The first time I was falsely accused but was set free-no sanctions meted on me.”

Dr. Sango, being a North westerner, revealed, “During the trial I made it abundantly clear to the Vice-Chancellor of University of Buea Prof Horace  Ngomo Manga ( South westerner) that he was acting on regional sentiments. “Why was Dr. Abangma (a Southwesterner) not summoned to face the Disciplinary Committee for derailing lecturers by issuing the communiqué in the first place? I see the whole thing in the [light of] the Northwest/Southwest divide issue.”

Asked if he would initiate legal action for his possible re-instatement in to the Higher Education Corps in Cameroon, a disappointed Dr.Sango said he won’t waste his precious time on that, since there many other universities in the world.

The said lecturer said participation in re-sit exams is optional and wondered why his non-participation should be treated with such extreme sanction. Resit, he said, is optional reason why they pay teachers extra-for the number of scripts assessed.

He added, “Since they had been looking for a means to nail me on the head, they saw that as an opportunity.”

 

 

 

Rebellion in Buea Diocese: Apostolic Administrator Michael Bibi’s authority questioned to the embarrassment of Catholic Hierarchy

Pope Francis  and Bishop Michael Bibi /photo:Portsmouth Diocese,UK

By Christopher Ambe

A serious crisis had rocked the Diocese of Buea   in 2012 when a good number of members of the Association of Diocesan Priests (ADP) of Buea Diocese, contrary to expectations, rose up against their Chief Shepherd, Bishop Immanuel Bushu Banlanjo, accusing him,in a memo, of high-handedness and favoritism in appointments .

The protesting priests  then alleged in their memo,which was addressed to  Bishop Bushu ,among other worries  that, Rev. Father George Nkeze, then Pro-Chancellor of the University Institute of Buea Diocese (UIDB),which is today CUIB, was given preferential treatment by the  Bishop, at the expense of other priests.

Harping on the alleged favoritism enjoyed by Rev. Nkeze, the memo claimed: “There are certain priests in the Diocese who must be in control of everything that matters. So one person is Pro-Chancellor and the same time Interim President of the University Institute of the Diocese of Buea (UIDB),Bishop’s Delegate in charge of missions with Government and the external world, as if there is no one else in the Diocese who can handle that post. The same priest is known by us to be very influential in the appointments and transfers of priests in this Diocese, especially his friends whom he controls and manipulates to gain his own interest.

“He has therefore influenced the appointment of the Education Secretary and has also brought the St.Thomas Aquinas Catholic Bookshop under his control.”

But Rev.Nkeze,who accumulated the above mentioned functions, reportedly found nothing wrong  with the Bishop’s decisions in his favour.

Now, Rev. Fr. George Nkeze, having been “sacked” as President of the Catholic University Institute of Buea(CUIB), is widely believed to be the brain behind Barrister Sobe Clive Ndikum’s petition against   Bishop Michael Bibi,Apostolic  Administrator of same diocese .

 Barrister Sobe , acting as counsel for CUIB in a petition to IFCU in France, has accused  the Apostolic Administrator of singlehandedly  dismissing officials of CUIB and appointing new ones.

Contacted on phone yesterday afternoon to confirm whether or not Fr Nkeze was the one behind the scene pulling the strings, Barrister Sobe told this reporter that he was busy in court, promising  to get back to me but did not by the press time.Fr Nkeze too was reportedly on sabbatical leave abroad.

With the new CUIB appointments, Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh,a seasoned university administrator in Cameroon, is the new President of  institute, in replacement of the “protesting” Priest,Rev. Nkeze.

 Bishop Michael Bibi, was appointed the Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Buea by Pope Francis on December 28, 2019 in replacement of Bishop Immanuel Bushu  Banlanjo ,who retired.

Barrister Sobe‘s  opposition to the authority of Bishop Bibi , just like the petition  of the ADP in 2012 against Bishop Bushu , has sparked a wide-spread  debate among Catholics as to whether  the authority of  bishops can be questioned even by their employees and or Priests.

Apparently embarrassed with the opposition of Barrister Sobe Clive   to the Apostolic  Administrator’s recent decisions and choices of appointment in CUIB, the Catholic hierarchy in Cameroon via the Apostolic Nuncio, Julio Murat, has in statement dated June 15, 2020, affirmed, among others things, the following:

 1) “The Apostolic Administrator is having jurisdiction within the Diocese of Buea to act for and on behalf of the Diocese of Buea in all matters concerning the Diocese of Buea and all other important institutions belonging to the Diocese.”

2)The Apostolic Administrator is the legitimate authority over all priests, religious and any other  mission  personnel within the Diocese of Buea  and reserves the right appoint ,transfer, remove or dismiss persons according to the prescriptions of the Code of Canon Law and the specific instructions  given to  him by the Holy See

 3) .The same Apostolic Administrator is  responsible for all the temporal goods and patrimony  of the diocese  of Buea and of all the Diocesan Institutions  and is  answerable  directly  to the Holy Father  through  the Apostolic Nunclature in Yaounde .

Seemingly embarrassed also by Barrister Sobe’s objections via concerning the Apostolic Administrator’s decisions affecting CUIB, Bishop Bibi, has re-asserted his powers and authority as the man in charge of the Diocese of Buea.

In a public declaration dated June 16,2020,Bishop Michael Bibi reiterated  that he  as the Apostolic Administrator has been “accorded full faculties  over the Diocese of Buea by the Supreme Pontiff with the obligation to exercise careful vigilance over the administration of all the temporal goods and patrimony of the Diocese of Buea including  but not limited to all such Diocesan institutions as the Catholic University Institute of Buea,and with the preserved right to intervention  in cases of negligence.”

Acting in his capacity as the Chancellor and Proprietor of CUIB,Bishop Bibi publicly declared as follows:

1.  That, Barrister Sobe Clive of Intellectum Law Firm in Tiko has not been authorized to initiate any legal action on behalf of the Catholic university Institute of Buea.

2.  Everything to the contrary being null and void.

It would be recalled that, acting as counsel for CUIB, Barrister Sobe , had in a petition, tilted “Letter of Complaint-Catholic University Institute of Buea” dated June 11 2020 and addressed to IFCU Administrative Board of Management, drawn  the latter’s attention to what he referred to as “Improper interference in the affairs of CUIB,which may put in jeopardy the role of Father George Jingwa Nkeze,President of CUIB ,Vice-President of IFCU,and IFCU Regional President for Africa.”

Seemingly angry over personnel changes in CUIB recently  effected by Bishop Bibi,  the lawyer alleged in his petition that, Bishop Bibi as Apostolic Administrator is not supposed” to carry out any mayor change or decision which is for the new bishop to make.”

 The counsel  claimed in his petition that by the new appointments and dismissals in CUIB, the Apostolic Administrator ”has caused irreparable damage  and mistrust  amongst students ,faculty members , the laity and other well-wishers of our Christian Community by making uninformed ,ill-advised  and rash decisions beyond his scope of his mandate and authority as an administrator.”

He stated  that the apostolic administrator’s “actions have reached unprecedented levels of commotion resulting to publications of articles a reasonable person would consider not kind to the Bishop  or the position he holds”, adding that he “violated the legal documents on which the university runs”

 But the Apostolic Nuncio in Yaoundé probably after reading the arguments contained in Barrister Sobe’s petition, has spoken out in a public statement, apparently endorsing the actions of Bishop Bibi;while  in asserting  his  supreme authority over  the affairs of the Diocese , Bishop who is the Chancellor and Proprietor of CUIB has disclosed that the counsel was never instructed to initiate any legal action for or behalf of CUIB.

(This article  is also published in The Horizon Newspaper,Cameroon,of 17 June 2020)

Escalation of Anglophone Crisis: Separatist fighters intensify deadly attacks against Cameroon forces

By Chembe Muluh

Deadly clashes between separatists and government forces continue in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon with the escalation of the Anglophone Crisis, which erupted in October 2016 over corporate demands by teachers and Common law advocates.

Anglophones staging  peace protests against perceived marginalisationon on 22nd September,2017 in Northwest and Southwest regions while President Paul Biya same day was in New Yorkaddressing the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly 

But the Cameroon government has called upon the separatist fighters to drop their weapons and return home or face the wrath of its determined forces.

Just recently reports said a police man in mufti was ambushed and fatally attacked in Bamenda by a certain Mbu Joseph, said to be a separatist fighter.

The killing of the policeman whose name we could not get immediately led to a manhunt by security agents for the separatist fighter and his girlfriend, Rhodesse  The girlfriend had reportedly been arrested in May 2020 and detained in Bamenda.  Released later on bail, she reportedly jumped bail and has been on the run. Security agents are said to be searching for her since her disappearance.

 Many other incidents of separatists ambushing and killing Cameroon Security forces have been reported in the two English-speaking regions.

Pundits now liken the socio-political crisis, which started as peaceful protests, to an armed conflict as the death toll rises.

The International rights organizations report that over 1000 people (both civilians and security forces) have already been killed as a result of fighting between Cameroon forces and armed separatists ( Amba Boys), who are demanding  the independence of the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, formerly known Southern Cameroons.

The peaceful protests against the perceived marginalization of the minority English-speaking Cameroonians (Anglophones) by the majority French-speaking Cameroonians (Francophones) turned violent when security forces violently confronted anti-government protesters in the streets of Buea and Bamenda

As protests continued, the Cameroon Government, on 17^th January 2017, banned the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC),a pressure group  that was created in 1994 to ensure the restoration of the independence of Southern Cameroons .

 The Biya government labels the SCNC as a secessionist movement and accuses it of fuelling behind-the-scene Anglohone protests.

 Barrister  Felix  Agbor Nkongho (in suit)  who coordinated anti-governemnet protests was arrested on 17 January 2017  and jailed for eight monthsin Yaounde  .He was realsed from prison on August 30,2017 and   he arrived Buea on September 1,2017   to a hilarious welcome

According to rights organizations, about fifty thousand Cameroonians are seeking asylum in neighboring Nigeria and over half a million  people are internally Displaced people ( IDPs)

Thousands of others are hiding in bushes as the military is reportedly raiding houses and villages, suspected to be hideouts for separatists. Anglophones in the Diaspora have been accused by the Cameroon Government of instigating and funding separatist fighters.

 The Government’s blacklist of leading Anglophone activists abroad include:Mark Berata, Cho Ayaba,Tapang Ivo,Akwanga Ebenezar,Chris Anu and John Mbah Akuroh

As the Government hunts for masked separatist-activists, many Anglophones abroad are reportedly scared to return home; they fear that they could be arrested and prosecuted on secession/terrorism-related charges

 

Cameroon:Prof. Julius Ngoh Appointed New President of CUIB

Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh: New President of CUIB

By Christopher Ambe

Professor Victor Julius Ngoh and author of many books, has been appointed by Rt Rev. Michael Miabesue Bibi, Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Buea,   as the new President of the Catholic University Institute of Buea(CUIB), an entrepreneurial university, which went operational in 2010.

 CUIB, located in Molyko-Buea, is purposed to train not only professionals but professionals with spiritual and moral values, according to official sources.

Prof. Ngoh,whose resourcefulness had before been put at the disposal of CUIB when he was one of its council pioneer members (before resigning from the position), has replaced Rev.Fr.George Nkeze, who was president of the prestigious institution of learning for many years. Fr. Nkeze is reportedly on sabbatical leave.

Banking on Prof Ngoh’s high academic and administrative profile, watchers of higher education in Cameroon are agreed that his choice as President, at this critical time, is a leap-forward for the CUIB, whose popularity grew very fast at its early stage.

Prof Ngoh, who is a senior Fulbright scholar, had served as Dean of Faculty of Arts, University of Buea; served as Registrar of University of Buea and later as Deputy Vice-chancellor for Research, Cooperation and Relations with the Business World in same university; he had also occupied the office of Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs ,University of Bamenda.

 Calm-looking but reportedly very stringent, Prof.Ngoh is also Visiting Professor ,Pan African University Institute of Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences(Yaoundé).

 A renowned professor of history and accomplished author,Prof. Ngoh  has to his credit  many books/publications. Some his books are:

 1. Southern Cameroons, 1922-1961: A Constitutional History

2. Cameroon 1884-the Present (2018): The History of a People

3. Abrogation of Federalism in Cameroon, 1972: A Historical Analysis

3. Cameroon From a Federal to a Unitary State, 1961-1972: A Critical Study

4. Cameroon 1884-1985: A Hundred Years of History

5. Cameroon History Since 1800

Reacting to his appointment as President of CUIB,Prof.Ngoh told this reporter on phone last Saturday that  it was a pleasant surprise and likened it to God’s plan.

“When my team and I will be installed... We will ensure that the mission assigned to CUIB is achieved,” he said, confidently.

According to the appointment decision dated June 11 and signed by Rt.Rev. Michael Miabesue Bibi, Apostolic Administrator,Diocese of Buea,”These appointments come in effect as from the first of July,2020.”

It is worth noting that Prof Ngoh was appointed alongside other officials of the CUIB, viz: Rt Rev. Michael Miabesue Bibi is the chancellor/ Pro-chancellor; Fr. Isaac Anuchem,Vicar-General & Episcopal Delegate to CUIB;Dr. Ngangum Eric,as Executive Vice-President/Dean,School of Engineering;Fr.Kevin Sakwe Nanje,Vice-President of Finance;Dr. Napolean Asobo,as Provosi; Mrs Ngole Noela Ebane as Finance administrator; and Fr.John Tchampda and Fr. Pascal Siben as chaplains.

The Apostolic Administrator also reconstituted members of the Board of Trustees of CUIB, who include: Senator Charles Mbella Moki, Barrister Emmanuel Kumfa, Justice Kenneth Ako and Dr. Jane Francis Akoachere.

He is praying that “the grace of God will assist us so that we may make the necessary sacrifices to enable CUIB to continue in educating young Cameroonians to be responsible citizens”

Cameroon:Rights Activist, Njoh Litumbe, Accorded Restricted Burial

*But grandiose celebration of his life billed for next year!

By Christopher Ambe

Renowned minority rights leader, Mola Njoh Litumbe who died, aged 93 plus, on May 26 in a hospital in Douala, was Thursday June 11, accorded a strictly family burial in his native Bokwaongo Village,Buea ,despite his national and international popularity.

The low-keyed funeral/ burial of the Cameroonian nonagenarian were blamed on the covid-19-induced travel restrictions, which prevented not only thousands of friends of the deceased (at home and abroad) from attending but also some of his own children in foreign countries.

But conscious of the popularity of the rights activist, Mafany Litumbe, son of the deceased disclosed to this reporter that, there are plans underway to organize a grandiose celebration of the life of his father next year.

“The burial was just for the family. Next year we will have a two- three day celebration of Mola Njoh Litumbe’s life when travel restrictions [will] have been lifted, so his family, friends, well-wishers, former colleagues etc can attend”,he said when this reporter sought answers for the low-keyed funeral/burial.

Mafany’s justification may now put to rest allegations that the family decided to organize a rather simple funeral for the nonagenarian to avoid a massive turnout of Anglophone separatists and activists, to whom the deceased was a huge inspiration for their self-determination cause, which for the past four years has plunged Cameroon into a serious socio-political crisis, resulting in deadly confrontations between Cameroon’s regular forces and armed separatists.

Njoh Litumbe,during his lifetime, shot into prominence not only because he was the doyen of Cameroon’s chartered accountants, the Chairman of a  political party, Liberal Democratic Alliance(LDA),the chief advocate for Bakweri ancestral land rights, but also as a frontline leader in the fight for the rights of minority English-speakers in Cameroon.

 Njoh Litumbe’s requiem at the Presbyterian Church(PC) Bokwaongo  was officiated by a college of clergymen, who included Rev. Simon Mokoko(Parish Pastor of PC New Town Airport Douala),Rev Joseph Linonge and Rev. Ntah William Nche(host Pastor).

Eulogies there came from two family members and a representative of PC Bokwaongo, where the deceased worshipped and was chairperson of the congregation’s project committee, for many years.

 In his sermon, titled “The Joy of a  well-fought contest”, inspired by the Bible book of 2 Timothy 4:7-8,Rev. Simon Mokoko harped on the certainty of death, noting that “this world is the land of the dying and the next world the land of the living.”

Llife is the journey from the womb to the tomb, observed the Pastor, who wondered why so many people are materially rapacious, instead of preparing themselves spiritually,to die happy.

”This world is not our home. And we will only be remembered for what we have done”, Rev Mokoko said, urging that people better get prepared for death. “Please don’t die without having lived.”

The clergyman, who held mourners spell-bound with his soul-searching sermon, noted that late Njoh Litumbe was a fine accountant whose accounting principles are rare to find in today’s society.

“He was strict, not wicked! He spoke out the truth in politics fearlessly…

“He saw truth as the bedrock of all healthy relationships; therefore, he spoke truth [to power], loved truth and died for truth,”said Rev.Mokoko of late Njoh Litumbe,whose father Yohannes Litumbe Ekese was ordained as the first Christian Pastor in British Cameroons in 1917. “We have not only lost a Christian but church builder.”

The Minister of God said the life of deceased has left behind three indivisible lessons: 1) Love, which expressed in different ways 2).Truth,which he courageously spoke all the times and 3).Personality, which he built, emerging as one of the finest personalities to be emulated.

Rev. Mokoko thought that before the nonagenarian breathed his last, Njoh litumbe had fought a good fight for the common interest and died spiritually rich.

“Mola Njoh Litumbe has just changed his address from an earthly home to heavenly home, where he will receive his crown of glory, “remarked Rev. Mokoko, who earlier said.

A host of national dignitaries (Buea elite), having family ties with late Mola Njoh Litumbe, such as Senator Mbella Moki and Prof.Mrs. Dorothy Limunga Njeuma, attended the funeral.

Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho, founder of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA) and noted rights activist, who attended the funeral, told this reporter:” Mola Njoh Litumbe was the Godfather of the Southern Cameroons struggle. We will miss him.I admired his resilience and professionalism. I admired the fact that he did what he believed in. And this is a lesson to all of us. Mola has gone. I am praying that he will intercede with God so we find a solution to the Anglophone struggle, which is factionalized, so that there should be unity in the leadership and movement .May his soul rest in peace as we keep alive the struggle”

***********************************************

           BIOGRAPHY OF THE LATE MOLA NJOH LITUMBE

Njoh Litumbe, fondly known as Mola Njoh or simply Mola, Daddy or Grandpa, was born in Bokwaongo, Buea, Cameroon on 4th February 1927 to the Rev. Yohannes Litumbe Ekese( ordained as the first Christian Pastor in British Cameroons on 9th April, 1917 ), and Hannah Liengu la Njoh’a Mafany, a Soppo Wonganga princess.

 He had his early education in Basel Mission and Baptist Mission schools, and attended St. Joseph’s College, Sasse, where he graduated in December 1946 with a University of Cambridge Overseas Senior School Certificate in Division One.

 At the time of his death he was the oldest SOBAN and he liked to call himself “The Last Man Standing”.

He joined the Cameroon Development Corporation as an accounts clerk in January 1947, from where he was awarded a scholarship to train as an accountant with Messrs Casselton Elliot & Co., Chartered and Incorporated Accountants of London and Lagos.

 He was articled to prizeman Harold William Long and completed his studies in the City of London in 1957.

 In so doing, he became the first Cameroonian to qualify as a chartered accountant, three years before the State of La Republique du Cameroun attained independence.

Upon his return to Africa, he joined the newly established firm of Messrs Akintola Williams & Co., chartered accountants of Lagos, where he rapidly rose to the position of manager and then development partner. In the latter capacity, he played a key role in the creation of branch offices in Port Harcourt and Enugu in Nigeria, Victoria and Douala in Cameroon, and Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire. In Cameroon he played a significant role in the creation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Cameroon, and served as its first President during its formative years. He retired from active practice upon reaching the age of 60 as Chairman of

the Akintola Williams Group, which by then had evolved to become the foremost accounting firm run by black Africans on the African continent, providing audit, taxation and management consultancy services to a broad portfolio of indigenous and multi-national clients.

He married the late Sarah Efosi Eko, whom he affectionately referred to as his “Senior Wife”,

in 1952 and their union produced 3 daughters and two sons. He is survived by 4 of the 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

In his retirement, Mola Njoh found his second vocation; political activism. He started by forcefully agitating for the Restoration of Bakweri Lands and, as Secretary General of the Land Claims Committee, he took our case all the way to the African Tribunal of Human Rights in Banjul, Gambia, where as part of a powerful delegation spearheaded by Professor Ndive Kale, the case was referred to the meeting of African Heads of State. Subsequently the CDC started a program of land restoration to bakweri villages.

He was also active in Cameroon politics as the founder and President of the Liberal Democratic Alliance, a party based in the South-West province. The LDA was part of the Opposition Alliance that tried unsuccessfully to unseat the incumbent in 1992.

However, he is probably best remembered for seeking a peaceful corrective formula for the political co-habitation between Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun that was never legally consummated. In so doing he coined the memorable phrase “Njomba no bi maret”. He took his cause all over the world and even to hallowed halls of the United Nations in New York. Originally a lone voice in the wilderness, he gradually become recognised as a repository of first hand anecdotal knowledge about Southern Cameroons and a veritable icon. Although he has left us, he truly believed that one day justice would prevail.

Mola was known as a strict disciplinarian and a man of integrity. But he was dearly loved and respected by all. He will be sorely missed by his family – nuclear, extended and political – and by his friends from all walks of life and all age groups.

Papa rest in peace. Wende gbamu. Yondo szwelele.

(As presented by son, Mafany Litumbe)

 

 

 

Cameroon :Fako Heart Centre Offers Free Consultations On Its First Anniversary

*No death recorded

Frontal View of Fako Heart Centre, Buea-Cameroon

By Christopher Ambe

Fako Heart Centre,last June 1, clocked one year since opening its doors to the public for consultation for people with heart and lung diseases.

The specialist health facility (worth hundreds of millions of FCFA), which is privately owned, has been described by many as the “Centre of Excellence for Stroke Prevention”

As part of celebrations marking the first anniversary, the management of the facility   has offered a 45–day period of free consultations to the public, which started since May 15 and will end on June 30, 2020.

Situated near Buea Mountain Hotel, Fako Heart Centre is also an accredited university college of cardiology.

In its one year of operation, a total of 2,170 people were consulted, out of which 319 were in-patients. 1) Clinic-based consultations: 1,366 (808 females, 558 males) and 2) Outreach consultations: 804 (391 females, 413 males)

 During same period no deaths were recorded, officials disclosed.

According to the World Health Organization, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death in the world.

The Centre has pointed out that “the alarming number of patients with cardiovascular conditions consulted so far attests to the fact that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a severe burden in Cameroon.”

 The Centre’s first anniversary activities included free consultations, medical counseling and a talk by a nutritionist. Patients were also given a 15% discount on all investigations

 It would be recalled that 110 people had been diagnosed with cardiac diseases the first day the Centre went operational on June 1, 2019.

Dr.Fred Perry Kemah,Cameroonian-born but London-based Consultant Cardiologist at Fako Heart Centre, said  of the facility:

“Patients now enjoy local access to specialist cardiac medicine. This is a consultant cardiologist-driven service. The high quality of care delivered at Fako Heart Centre is based on several factors including the huge number of nursing staff trained to deliver not only medical care but also social care.

“Fako Heart Centre is unique in terms of its services in the sense that it offers  tailored services in keeping with Western standards”

The Centre diagnoses and treats diseases such as: resistant hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, chest pain, heart attack, Palpitations, heart failure, pneumonia,HiV/heart diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and pericarditis.

 Last year, Consultant Cardiologist Fred Perry Kemah, who is one of the vision bearers of the  Centre, disclosed that  while  he was in London many Cameroonians used to  call him, complaining of cardiovascular diseases(whose endpoint is heart failure), a situation which finally pushed him to establish Fako Heart Centre.

The Consultant Cardiologist added that the facility was put up for humanitarian reasons, since treating cardiovascular diseases abroad is quite expensive.

Mrs. kemah Irene,CEO of Fako Heart speaking to reporters 

“The same services I provide in London, France or elsewhere abroad are the same here.The only difference is that to see me in London  you pay about 250 pounds; in France ,to see me you pay about 200 Euros ,but here in Buea people don’t pay to see me..” he observed.

Mrs.Kemah Naloua Irene, who is the CEO of Fako Heart Centre, told reporters on June 2 that the main mission of the centre is to fight against cardiovascular diseases including stroke.

She revealed that hypertension was common among the many people who came for consultation. “High blood pressure is a huge problem in Cameroon. And many people hardly go for check-up”,she said.” We have a lot of diabetic patients too.”

 The CEO urged the public “to take their health more seriously and do regular check-ups to know exactly what is wrong with them. Don’t just sit and assume that you have malaria and you go get drugs from the pharmacy.”

The Fako Heart Centre provides services viz:Electrocardiogram (ECG), Echocardiogram/EchoDoppler Studies,Echotress test, DC Cardioversion,Stress test, Tilt table test,Holter 24hr BP Blood Pressure Monitor,Holter 24hr ECG monitor and Transesophageal echocardiogram.

According to officials: “At Fako Heart, patients are seen immediately, have their blood tests done immediately, have their investigations done immediately before going back home unlike other specialist health facilities where patients are  seen, they go home and come back the next day for other investigations

Fako Heart Centre  Nurses ready to receive to patients 

“Fako Heart does everything at the same time because we do not waste time in cardiac medicine. In cardio-respiratory medicine, time is of the essence. Fako Heart has a track record so far with zero mortality in 12 months. This is based on good medical practice and that involves working within our capacity and communicating clearly with patients about the critical situations in which patients find themselves.

 “If we identify non-cardiovascular patients, we refer them to the appropriate specialists on time. If we receive a patient in a critical and terminal condition, we advise the patient about their critical and terminal state and of course no need keeping them in a private institution where they will spend money with a very poor outcome, in that case we arrange for alternative measures.”

So far,Fako Heart Centre’s patients have come not only from Cameroon but from foreign countries such as Nigeria and Central Africa Republique.

 

 

Cameroon:Will death of Njoh Litumbe at 94 weaken Anglophones’ rights claim?

Late Mola Njoh  Litumbe, Minority Anglophone rights campaigner,

who died at the age of 94 in Douala ,Cameroon

By Christopher Ambe

Mola Njoh Litumbe was not the president of the putative Republic of Ambazonia-even as many people had wished that he should be with his enormous political wisdom and fearless determination to defend the rights of minority English-speaking Cameroonians.

This patriarch and prominent elite of Buea, generally known as a principled man, died on May 26 in a clinic in Douala at the advanced age of 94. His body is at the Buea Regional Mortuary.

 Litumbe will be given a befitting burial by mid-June, according to his cousin, Senator Mbella Moki, who helped mobilize for the reception of the patriarch’s corpse in Buea the same day he died.

There is no doubt that Litumbe died without achieving his greatest wish of getting the Biya government  correct the injustices purportedly slammed by the majority Francophone-led administration against minority English-speakers (Anglophones) who on 1^st October 1961 then known as Southern Cameroons, a UN trust territory ,gained  independence by joining La Republigue du Cameroun.

But many critical observers are agreed that he set the pace, for others to follow in his footsteps in the domain of minority rights claims. 

Litumbe’s continued advocacy, against all odds, for Anglophones’ rights-and equality of status for both English-and French-speaking Cameroonians, projected him more  as an engine for Anglophone resistance against perceived marginalization and discrimination by the majority Francophones.

On more than two occasions, he was put under “house arrest” in his Membea House-Buea because of his political activism, which was sharpening the consciousness of the Anglophone Community about their plight. He would tell truth to power, without blinking.

 For example in March 2013, acting in his capacity as Chairman of Liberal Democratic Alliance (LDA),a political party, Litumbe  convened a press conference but  it was banned by the then Divisional officer(DO) for Buea, Chekem  M. Abraham who ordered troops to surround the political rights activist’s residence.

An irate Litumbe dragged the DO to the Fako High Court in Buea and won the case, reiterating the principle that nobody is above the law.

To encourage Anglophones to claim their rights, Litumbe even wrote a book on the annexation of Southern Cameroons, titled “Case of the Annexation of the UN British Administered Territory of Southern Cameroons”, in addition to his extensive mass media campaigns to justify that there was no legal reunification between British Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun; that there is no documentary evidence at the UNO showing that Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun legally joined. He likened the union between the two entities as mere cohabitation.

In 2014, Litumbe’s knowleagibility of Cameroon’s political realities pushed the Cameroon Government to invite him as a speaker at a colloquium, which was part of activities marking Cameroon’s Reunification. The colloquium had as theme “From Reunification to Integration”

At the colloquium that held at the University of Buea, chaired by then Prime Minister Philemon Yang, a fearless Litumbe in his presentation, stubbornly went beyond his scheduled time(until the microphone was disconnected) and fed the large audience with the bitter historical facts ;for example, that there is no documentary evidence at the UNO proving that Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun signed a union treaty to become one country.

Even though Litumbe was a key speaker at the colloquium and a political party leader, the Biya administration did not formally invite him as one of dignitaries to be seated at the Buea presidential tribune for the Golden Jubilee Celebration in 2014, which was presided at by President Paul Biya. 

The non-invitation of Litumbe fuelled speculation that the Yaounde establishment was not happy with his colloquium paper, which was greeted with thunderous applause.

Among other points, Litumbe said at the colloquium: “To argue, as some misguided proponents say, that an association of a UN member state with another territory could be deemed valid, is to say that while the constitution of a country defines the prescriptions to establish a marriage, parties who cohabit without going through the statutory and legal steps to construct a legal marriage, could be deemed nevertheless to be ‘married.’ The statute would first have to be amended, to permit of such an interpretation.”

 On October 1, 2011, as hundreds of Anglophones assembled at Buea Mile 17 Motor Park to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the independence of Southern Cameroons, Litumbe, who was then the Home Front Leader of the Patriotic Coalition Front, which had mobilized the activists for the peaceful march, was put under house arrest for the whole day with heavily armed police on guard.

“The armed forces sealed my gate so that I could not go out. I asked them who gave them the orders to do that, and one said it was the governor and another said hierarchy. Nobody could enter my premises all day; no domestic help to even give me food,” Litumbe told reporters then.

Armed police then swooped on the assembled activists at the motor park and arrested over 250 of them, while over 60 activists escaped into the residence of Nigeria Consul-General in Buea for protection.

In January 2012, President Paul Biya and wife sent an SMS via MTN and Orange companies to millions of Cameroonians, wishing them a happy new year 2012. But unable to text back to the president, Litumbe issued a press release as his reply to the presidential SMS in which he urged Biya to rather dialogue with Southern Cameroons, if he (Biya) must have happiness that year.  

Litumbe, using his private funds embarked on a diplomatic offensive abroad, visiting the UN, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,and other diplomatic services pleading with them to help resolve the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon.

He was highly loved and hailed by separatist leaders for his commitment to the Anglophone cause despite his advanced age. Litumbe’s demise has been described by separatist leaders and rights activists as a huge loss for their struggle for self-determination.

While Litumbe’s death has created a vaccum in the rights claim struggle, many people think he had emboldened many others to follow in his footsteps their efforts to right wrongs.

Litumbe ,whose wife had died died many years for him, leaves behind four children, relations and friends to mourn and remember him.

( Also published in The HORIZON Newspaper,Cameroon,of June 1,2020)