At least seven Christians were killed as gangs of around 300 Boko Haram militants raided five Christian villages in Far North Cameroon, reports a Barnabas contact.

In the first attacks, which began late at night on 6 January, two men were killed and two children kidnapped when heavily armed militants invaded the village of Hitere, Tourou district. Hitawa village, in the same district, was also raided and looted.

In Moudokou village, Moskota district, three Christians were killed in a raid and a ten-year-old boy was kidnapped. Another Christian man was murdered by the Islamists in an attack on Guitsenad village.

A survivor of the recent brutal Boko Haram attacks sits in a church in one of the villages in Far North Cameroon

On 7 January, a seventh Christian was murdered in a Boko Haram assault on a fifth village, Guedjelé in Koza district.

The two church buildings used by the affected communities were sabotaged and burnt.

Eyewitness reports described heavily armed militants encircling villages and shouting and chanting menacingly throughout the night. In the prolonged attacks, the militants swept through the communities breaking into homes to kill, loot, burn and destroy.

A local pastor pleaded for prayer, “We don’t know what to do. Pray for those who lost their beloved. Pray also for little children left without even clothes.”

At least ten Christians were murdered in an intense wave of Boko Haram attacks late in 2019. Seven were killed and 21 children and young adults were kidnapped in Mayo Sava district in December. In November, a 12-year old Christian schoolboy was hacked to death when he resisted militants’ attempt to abduct him as a “child soldier” during a raid on Tourou district. Earlier the same month pioneering pastor, David Mokoni, and a hearing-impaired Christian boy were killed when militants attacked their church in Moskota village.

Source: Barnabas Fund

Christians of the Cameroon Catholic Community of Boston, gathered in their numbers to celebrate with Sister Agnes Njume on the occasion of her fortieth anniversary as a professed religious with the Sisters of Saint Therese of Buea on Sunday December 28, 2019, Feast of the Holy Family at St. Anne’s Parish Salem of the Archdiocese of Boston.Equally in attendance, were several religious, former students of Sister Agnes, the Alumni of her High School, her family, friends and the Bakossi Community of New England.

The Anniversary Mass which started at 1pm ET was presided by Bishop Arthur Kennedy PhD, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston. The Entrance Procession was beautifully led the CWA of Boston, nicely clad in their CWA Uniform. Sister Agnes Njume is an alumnus of Queen of the Rosary College Okoyong and is an active member of their alumni association known by the acronym OPSA. OPSA New England led the Lectionary Procession. In his homily, which lasted 12 minutes, Bishop Kennedy commended Sister Agnes Njume for the role she played in nurturing young girls in Cameroon and preparing them to lead families which are God fearing following the example of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Bishop Kennedy forcefully denounced the German philosopher, Karl Marx’s book, The Holy Family, published in 1884, which was a scathing attack on Christianity and on the person of Jesus, and mocked everything which the Holy Family of Nazareth stood for. Of course, under Marxist philosophy, everything is guided by economics and politics and the state controlled absolutely everything. Basically, the book promoted distrust within the family, with parents not trusting children and vice versa. Consequently, the family itself could not be trusted. Sister Agnes Njume, throughout her forty years of dedicated, committed and passionate service, fought against the ills promoted by a Marxist cultural attack on the family which completely undermines Christian doctrine. Sister Agnes has been a champion for the family, a champion for the poor and a champion for the girl child. Consequently, it was providential that herFortieth Anniversary celebration as a Religious took place when the Holy Mother Church was celebrating the Feast of Holy Family.

After the Profession of Faith, Sister Agnes Njume once more as she did forty years ago and as she has done several times within the past forty years, while kneeling at the foot of sanctuary, solemnly, passionately and joyfully renewed her religious vows of celibate chastity, poverty and obedience in front of Bishop Kennedy. At the end, the assembly applauded her with joy and the famous Bakossionsoonsoonso was chanted. 

During the offertory, after the first collection, Sister Agnes Njume and the other women religious present, led the offertory procession with beautiful liturgical dances accompanied by popular songs in the Bakossi language (Akosse). The entire assembly stood up and danced with their monetary gifts to thank God for the gift of Sister Agnes Njume to the church. After the Prayer After Communion, Fr. Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai, Pastor of the St. Anne Parish thanked all for coming and presented to the assembly, the many religious who had turned out for the beautiful liturgy to pray and celebrate with Sister Agnes Njume. He was also very appreciative of Bishop Kennedy who willingly accepted to preside over the Mass and persevered with a long Cameroonian Liturgy. In response, Bishop Kennedy expressed his joy to celebrate for the first time with the Cameroonian Catholic community in Massachusetts and in particular with Sister Agnes Njume who had done a lot to promote Christian values and teach not only by words but by the example of her life following the example of St Therese of the Child Jesus. Bishop Kennedy gave the final blessing and the Mass ended at 2:50pm ET. After Mass, groups and individuals took various photographs to immortalize the event. 

By 3:30pm, all had gathered in the Parish Hall for the Reception. Sister Agnes Njume thanked God for having chosen her, though unworthy to consecrate her entire life to the service of God and God’s people. She was immensely grateful to her parents especially her dad who initially introduced her to the idea of being a woman religious. She rendered her sincere thanks to all who have supported her in her formation and throughout her life as a religious and now as a Graduate Theology Student at Boston College especially the wonderful Cameroonian community in Massachusetts. She thanked all dearly for coming especially those who had travelled from various states within the United States of America to celebrate with her and more importantly, to pray with and for her. She was particularly grateful to Rev. Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai, who she described as a son, for having made this celebration possible. She was very appreciative of the organizing committee for their sacrifices. From the remarks made by her friends, colleagues, former students and those who had had a personal encounter with Sister Agnes Njume, the following characteristics of her life stood out, which not only young religious can emulate, but all those who come in contact with Sister Agnes Njume: her self-less service, her commitment, her unparalleled dedication, her straightforwardness, her prayer life and most importantly her sincere love for God and God’s people.

A cake was prepared in her honor which she cut. There was much merry making by all. By 6pm ET the celebration came to an end.

By Anselm Ndumbe)

Pope Francis has promoted an African bishop known for his emphasis on family, community, and traditional values. In an announcement released on Monday, the Holy See Press Office confirmed that the pope has named Bishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya as the new Archbishop of Bamenda in Cameroon.

Bishop Fuanya, 54, has served as the Bishop of Mamfe, also in Cameroon, since 2014. He came to international attention during the 2018 meeting of the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith, and vocational discernment.

In contrast to the situation in many European countries, Fuanya said during the synod, the Church in Cameroon and in many parts of Africa is growing – including among young peoples.

“My churches are all bursting, and I don’t have space to keep the young people,” Fuanya during a Vatican press conference in October last year. “And my shortest Mass would be about two and a half hours.”

A 2018 study by Pew Research found that church attendance and prayer frequency was highest in sub-Saharan Africa and lowest in Western Europe. Four out of five Christians in Cameroon said that they pray every day.

Bishop Fuanya was born in 1965 and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Buéa, Cameroon, in 1992, at the age of 26. In 2013, he was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Mamfe, becoming the diocesan bishop the following year.

Bishop Fuanya’s new see, Bamenda, was erected as a diocese in 1970 and elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese by St. John Paul II in 1982. In recent years, the archdiocese has shown clear signs of growth and evalgelization. While the population of the archdiocese remained stable at 1.4 million people between 2015 and 2018, the percentage of Catholics rose from 29% to 42% during the same period.

During the Synod on young people, Fuanya credited the Church’s growth in Cameroon to the alignment between Church teaching and the values of wider society, and the strength of the family as a cultural institution.

“People ask me, ‘Why are your churches full?’” Fuanya said in 2018. “Coming from Africa, the family is a very, very strong institution.”

“We come from a culture in which tradition normally is handed from one generation to the other.”

Bishop Fuanya has also spoken about the need for the Church to teach unambiguously on issues of morals and sexuality, remarking during the 2018 synod that he would not accept any usage of so-called LGBT terminology in Church documents because “99.9 percent” of the young people in his diocese would “stand at my door and say, ‘What’s this?’”

“Our traditional values still equate to the values of the Church, and so we hand over the tradition to our young people undiluted and uncontaminated,” he continued, noting that a strong sense of community in the Church is something “very important that Europe can learn from Africa.”

In Africa, the newly-named Archbishop said, “there’s still a lot of things we do as community. That is the difference..”

“What we are trying to do in these small Christian communities is to fight the in-creeping of individualism,” he said.

Source: National Catholic Register

The Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bamenda, His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua tendered his resignation letter to His Holiness Pope Francis. The Prelate handed over his resignation letter to Pope Francis in prelude to his 75th anniversary

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon, presented by Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua.

The Pope has appointed Bishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Mamfe as metropolitan archbishop of Bamenda.

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Andrew Nkea of the Mamfe Diocese as Archbishop of Bamenda. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands an announcement will be made soon inside the Bamenda Cathedral.

The Bishop of Mamfe will take over the role from Retired Archbishop Cornelius Esua.

Msgr. Michael Bibi, Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda has been appointed by the Holy Father Pope Francis as Apostolic Administrator of Buea Diocese. The appointment was made today 28/12/2019 at 12noon Vatican time. By this appointment also, the Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Mgr. Immanuel Bushu as Bishop of Buea.

 Rt. Rev. Michael Miabesue Bibi 48 year old hails from Bamessing, Ngoketunjia Division. Until his new appointment, he has been the Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda, right from the day of his nomination as Bishop on 24th January 2017. According to the new appointment he still maintains this function.

 He is also Titular Bishop of Amudarsa. The Rt. Rev. Michael Bibi will be administering the Diocese of Buea, with the right to residence until a new bishop is appointed for the diocese. It is worth reiterating again that during his new task, he would still remain the Auxiliary of Bamenda.

Source: Kumbo Diocese

Cameroon’s Catholic clergy made a special effort to visit the country’s prisons on Christmas Day. “Christ came to free us from all our prisons,” said Archbishop Samuel Kleda as he addressed inmates in the overcrowded New Bell prison in Douala.

The prelate said he wasn’t only referring to the physical prisons where people are clamped into enclosures like the New Bell Prison; rather, Christ liberates “us from the prisons of our hearts.”

He said people can only regain their freedom if they open their hearts to Christ. “Once you recognize your sin and admit that you were wrong, you are free, you are converted, and you get to know how to proceed,” he said.

In Garoua, in the country’s north, Archbishop Faustin Ambassa Njodo said, “Christ goes to his children wherever they are.”

Addressing inmates at the Garoua prison, the archbishop said: “Whatever you did, God will come to you. If we go back to the Scriptures, the Son of God is saying that a medical doctor goes to those who are sick. That means Jesus is coming not for those who believe in Him, but for the sinner.”

Ambassa Njodo exhorted the inmates to open their hearts to receive Christ and they will have eternal life.

Cameroon’s bishops have expressed their concern about detention conditions where poor infrastructure and overcrowding mean the rights of prisoners are violated on a daily basis. Figures from the Ministry of Justice indicate that the overall occupancy rate in 2016 was 164.7 percent, even as that figure varies from prison to prison.

The New Bell Prison in Douala houses some 5,000 inmates, although it was initially constructed to hold just 800 people, giving the facility an occupancy rate of 625 percent. The notorious Kondengui prison in Yaoundé had an occupancy rate of 400 percent in 2016, and the central prison at Maroua generally holds more than 200 percent of its capacity. These figures have not changed much.

And while the country’s clergy sought to uplift the spirits of the inmates, the issue of justice for prisoners also came to the fore, with Kleda noting that good judges are also involved in works of charity.

“A judge who does his work rightly… pays attention to every person, and those who remain in jail are rightly condemned. That is charity,” the archbishop said.

The archbishop expressed disgust at the long pre-trial detention periods: Official statistics indicate that about 55.5 percent of inmates in the country are still awaiting trial.

Calls for peace dominate Christmas messages

In a country battered by a separatist war to the west and Boko Haram terrorism to the north, the message of the peace of Christ has a particularly strong appeal this year.

Ambassa Njodo painted a bleak picture of how far Cameroon had degenerated in recent times.

“We have brothers and sisters from the same families who fight each other, they don’t eat together, and this is not normal,” the archbishop said.

In the troubled North West region where a separatist uprising known as the Anglophone Crisis has been going on for the past three years, Father Gilbert Aurore noted that “we need peace, we need love and we need forgiveness.”

“Jesus Christ being the Prince of Peace has come with that peace so that we may experience life in abundance,” the priest said.

Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions – the North West and the South West – make up about 20 percent of Cameroon’s population, which is majority French-speaking. Anglophones have long complained about marginalization by the predominantly francophone government.

In 2016, peaceful protests by teachers and lawyers in the two regions over the use of French in schools and courts spiraled out of control after a government crackdown. An extremist separatist movement calling for the secession of the Anglophone regions was the result. In three years of fighting, over 3,000 people have been killed, and about 700,000 others forced from their homes.

“The bloodshed really has to stop. We are tired of this fighting,” said Bishop Andrew Nkea of Mamfe, in Cameroon’s South West region.

At St. Joseph Parish, in Tkomberé in the country’s far North region, Father Denis Daba said he had brought a “message of peace and living together, because Christ has come  for the unity of God’s children, to draw them closer, especially those who do not know him.”

A similar message was echoed by Archbishop Jean Mbarga of Yaoundé. During a homily in the city’s Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, the archbishop noted that Christmas was a time for “renewal” for families who have worked all year round. He said while people were engaged in such renewal, it was also the time to open their hearts to Christ.

“People have to open their hearts to allow God to return to them. There is need for God to return to public spaces. God must be the foundation of everything we do.”

Mbarga said only when “God takes possession of our lives” can there be a return to peace in Cameroon.

Source: Crux

As ethnic tensions threaten Cameroon’s social fabric, the country’s Catholic bishops have warned the country’s citizens about the dangers of moving down the road of tribalism.

In a Dec. 10 pastoral letter to the country’s Christians, the bishops’ conference warned that tribalism was a recipe for economic stagnation; a threat to social cohesion, and a major driver of unwarranted suspicion and fear, especially among the most vulnerable in society.

“Given the recent events making news in our country with the escalation of violence in  various  forms, we felt we had the obligation to once again address ourselves to the Cameroonian people, to Christians and to all people of good will, on the consequences of the steep rise in tribalism in our country,” the bishops said in a letter signed by Bishop Abraham Bouallo Kome, the president of the conference.

Drawing from the scriptures, the bishops condemned the use of social media platforms to spread the opinions of politicians and others who use tribalism to sow confusion among citizens and stigmatize entire peoples.

“Through well prepared media lynching sessions, they try to make of their political and ideological enemies, the enemies of all the people, just like Saul did against David,” the bishops wrote.

“Taking a closer look at it, these confrontations in themselves are the fruit of egoism, greed and the thirst to either conquer or keep state power at all costs as was the case with King Herod,” the letter continued.

Cameroon has around 250 ethnic groups, and there are 24 major tribal language groups used in the country, along with the official languages of French and English.

In the letter, Kome said the bishops had seen “unacceptable things,” as calls to tribal fealty were being used by politicians to divide the people.

“We are saying that it is time for Cameroonians to understand that belonging to a tribe is a good thing, but we must valorize the values of our tribes and always be open to the nation. Tribes are at the service of the nation. The finality of the tribe is to bring its uniqueness so that the nation can be enriched for the good of all,” Kome told Crux.

Following the 2018 presidential election, the tribal origins of Maurice Kamto – the defeated candidate who claimed to have won the election – have been frequently bashed by government apologists.

Kamto comes from the Bamelike ethnic group in the country’s West region.

There was a violent confrontation between the natives of President Paul Biya’s Sangmalima village and settlers from Kamto’s Western region two months ago.

Between October 9-10, the people of Sangmalima attacked the Westerners, ransacking their homes and businesses in what was seen as an ethnically-based attack.

Cameroon’s English speakers, frequently considered as an ethnic group by the country’s Francophone majority, have also been subjected to racist abuse, with some members of the ruling party calling for the “complete elimination” of those they call “Anglophone separatist terrorists.“

Cameroonian political scientist, Immanuel Tatah Mentan said that “the undemocratic tendency of ethnic groups viewing themselves as the best and others as unpatriotic is unhealthy.”

Law against hate, tribalism

The Cameroonian government passed a law last month criminalizing hate speech and tribalism.

Article 241 of the said law punishes promoters of hate speech and tribalism with prison terms ranging between six days and six months or a fine amounting to about $1,000.

If the crime is committed on broadcast, print, or social media, the fine rises to about $34,000.

The penalty for both cases doubles if the accused is found to have the intention of triggering hate or indifference among people.

While many have welcomed the new legislation, there are fears that the government could use law to gag the press and stifle political dissent.

Cameroon’s Cardinal Christian Tumi said he believes the only antidote to hate is love.

“That means you must do unto others what you would like them to do to you. It’s as simple as that,” the cardinal said.

Culled from Crux

Cameroon Intelligence Report correspondent in Yaoundé has confirmed that the recent attack on the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires cathedral in Yaoundé on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 was staged by a group of gendarmerie officers with strong ties to the regime.

Cameroon state media houses had earlier reported that the attack was carried out by armed men who held the chief celebrant and some faithful hostage during the less than 15 minutes action in the morning Eucharistic celebration.

Our chief intelligence officer revealed that the pro regime action was masterminded from SED due to the numerous anti government pastoral letters coming from the management of the cathedral.  The ill-disguised gendarmerie officers also searched the chaplain’s office and made away with important documents.

According to our intelligence files, the vehicle used by the so-called robbers which was abandoned not far away from the cathedral gate had been seen transporting some security officers a day before during an operation at the Obili neighborhood.  

A lot of tongues have been waging ever since the incident which occurred in a high security area in Yaoundé habouring the Prime Minister’s office, the Central Post Office, Hilton Hotel and the Yaoundé Main Market.  We also gathered that the sum 8 million FCFA was taken by the attackers.

Spectacular robberies with sophisticated weapons have multiplied in recent months in Yaoundé and the economic capital of Douala with the Biya Francophone regime maintaining a kind of deliberate silence.

On November 6, a James Bond-like 007 robbery took place in Bonanjo, the administrative district of Douala during which the robbers shot and killed a man at close range before fleeing with a bag full of banknotes. And, on October 26, 2019, a 70-seat transit bus was the subject of another robbery that involved all the passengers.  

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

A distraught community is mourning and singing a new shared “lament” after Boko Haram violence claimed at least seven lives including Pastor David Mokoni and several Christian young people, in the latest spate of merciless Boko Haram attacks in Far North Cameroon.

A local Christian leader says the repeated attacks in Moskota village over the last month have left some families in the community in the worst state of extreme psychological distress he has ever seen.

The severe violence led a young Christian man to pen a lament describing the “ghost villages and ransacked shops” and asking, “And when a pastor falls in Africa doesn’t that mean anything?” All in the district are singing the song as they try to come to terms with their terrible suffering.

“Moskota village has become the scene of the agonies of Boko Haram.
Only the dead, only the displaced;
Only ghost villages, shops ransacked and emptied;
Only health centres plundered and looted;
Only cattle taken away; empty buildings.
Boko Haram struck – our founder Pastor Mokoni paid the price.
And when a pastor falls in Africa doesn’t that mean anything?
Only … emptiness.”

Seven people were killed and 21 children and young adults were kidnapped in a series of attacks, which came just a month after a spate of similar atrocities targeted mainly-Christian villages.

At least 300 homes were looted and more than 140 oxen stolen. Vital crops such as millet, peanuts and cotton were destroyed and left to rot.

The attacks in Mayo Sava district began on 1 December when gunmen opened fire on mourners at a funeral in Kotserehé, forcing them to flee. An eyewitness said, “It was a total rout … women have fled without being able to take their children with them.” The attack left four Christians dead and three wounded. The witness added, “A place of mourning has turned into a theatre of war that has ended in carnage.”

The following night, an attack on Zangola village left three dead and caused untold destruction. With food, clothing and livelihoods taken, the defenceless people “had only their eyes to cry” said a local contact.

In a third attack, the village of Mbreche was targeted at around 2 a.m. on 5 December. Militants searched from house to house and kidnapped 21 young people – nine girls and twelve boys, aged between 12 and 21. Four of the young people, including a girl aged 13, managed to escape.

It is thought that those abducted will be forced to become Boko Haram “soldiers” and fight on behalf of the extremists. Only weeks earlier, on 19 November, a 12-year-old Christian boy was hacked to death for resisting militants’ attempt to abduct him as a “child soldier” in Tourou district.

Boko Haram often strikes in the middle of the night in gangs of up to 200 militants and lays waste to villages. By now, most villagers, especially men and young people, no longer go to bed in their homes but “hide out” in the mountains. Those with motorbikes or bicycles travel to nearby towns to spend the night in greater safety there. Some people no longer really sleep at all, said our contact.

Barnabas Fund