Archbishop of Douala says attack on Anglophone Bishops is “sacrilegious” ⁰

The President of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, Archbishop Samuel Kléda has denounced the Yaoundé regime’s fierce attack on Southern Cameroons Bishops. The Archbishop of the Douala Diocese say Roman Catholic Bishops of the Bamenda ecclesiastical province cannot be held responsible for the closure of denominational schools as claimed by the a group backed by the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime.

The Man of God observed that the attack on the Roman Catholic Church by government agents is a real scandal! The Metropolitan Archbishop of Douala told Radio Equinoxe that the Catholic Church did not orchestrate the Anglophone crisis that has paralyzed the English-speaking regions since November 2016. He pointed out that the Southern Cameroons Bishops did not shut down the private and public schools.  Archbishop Kleda wondered aloud if the so-called Consortium of Parents that sued the Anglophone Bishops will also file a complaint against those responsible for private and public institutions.

Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua, his assistant Bishop Michael Bibi, the bishop of Kumbo Diocese George Nkuo, and the principal of the Sacred Heart College of Mankon, are expected to appear before the Bamenda Court of First Instance on Friday, April 21, 2017, to answer the charges against them. The two plaintiffs are senior officers of the Cameroonian army. They blame the respondents for collecting tuition fees on behalf of the school year, which is drawing to a close, without giving anything as a course. Therefore, they are claiming compensation of 150 million FCFA.

Monday, April 17, 2017 was the day of resumption of classes for the 3rd quarter of the school year 2016/2017 throughout the national territory. In Buea and Bamenda as in other towns in the South-West and North-West Regions, several schools belonging to the Anglophone educational sub-system, including denominational schools of the Catholic Church, have not been opened.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Eyong Johnson