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)