Pope Francis on Sunday appealed to the world not to forget or ignore the suffering of the population in Anglophone Cameroon where violence continues to cause death and displacement.

Speaking before leading the Angelus Prayer at the conclusion of Holy Mass in the city of Matera where he marked the end of the National Eucharistic Congress, the Pope said he joins in the appeal of the bishops of Cameroon for the liberation of eight people kidnapped in the diocese of Mamfe, including five priests and a religious sister.

“I add my voice to the appeal of the Bishops of Cameroon for the release of thé people kidnapped in the Diocese of Mamfe, including five priests and one religious. I pray for them and for the people of the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda: May the Lord grant peace to the hearts of the people and restore harmony to the social order of the Country.”

The priests and the religious sister were reportedly kidnapped by unknown assailants who set fire to a church on Friday in Nchang village in Manyu Division.

This was announced in a statement by the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda.

The Mamfe diocese, located in the southwest region, is one of two restive regions in Cameroon where separatists have been waging war against the Yaoundé authorities since 2017.

Source: Vatican News

“It took years for the Church to bring Jesus into this land and I am sure it will take years to bring Jesus back!! All I ask for is that we should pray for the release of the five priests, the religious and the two Christians who were all abducted” was the message from the Bishop of Mamfe, Dr Aloysius Fondong Abangalo, after he visited Nchang village following this week’s terror attack on St. Mary Catholic Church Nchang.

In a soul-searching presentation, His Lordship Dr Abangalo stated that there was an urgent need for the entire diocese of Mamfe to hold a service of prayer and seek penance.  The Bishop said that the atmosphere in his diocese was sombre and heavy and that things may never be the same as they were before.

The Bishop’s House is offering support to the Christians in Nchang and the families in pain, but Christians everywhere deep within the Mamfe Diocese should join us in prayer and in saying the rosary, Bishop Aloysius Fondong said.

Speaking on BBC radio, the head of the Bamenda Ecclesiastic Province, Archbishop Andrew Nkea, said that the Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon was in shock after the attack.

No Southern Cameroons armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Manyu Division had already been in a state of heightened alert since the beginning of the crisis in Southern Cameroons. But it is surprising that soldiers have not been guarding churches and public spaces.

Christian leaders in many parts of Cameroon and even beyond have condemned the terrorist attack on the St Mary Catholic Church in Nchang.

Bishop Bibi Michael of the Buea Diocese reportedly sent a message to the Bishop of Mamfe expressing his deep sorrow saying Christians in the Mamfe Diocese are in need of our prayers as they minister the love of God to the stricken village.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The news about the burning of a church in Nchang, a town some five kilometers from Mamfe, has depressed many people across the globe. The Southern Cameroons crisis which started some six years ago has nothing to do with religion. Burning churches and kidnapping clergymen speaks of the barbarism which belongs to a different epoch.

The church, especially the Catholic Church, has been pushing for dialogue and negotiations and this act by some irresponsible elements could alienate the Catholic Church which should be a key player in any and every negotiation on the this crisis which has been hijacked by some senseless and irresponsible elements.

From the time the crisis started, many people knew that the real fighters were protective of the population and were better organized to face the government which has been refusing to go to the negotiating table where a genuine and sustainable solution could be found.

In recent times, it has been noticed that some criminals have infiltrated the ranks of the fighters and these irresponsible elements are giving the rebellion a real bad name. 

Today, there is more of banditry than fighting in the two English-speaking regions of the country. This has been made more possible by the availability of assault weapons in the country.

Why would any reasonable human being burn a church and kidnap men of God whose role is to sow peace and unity in the country? What has the Catholic Church done for it to become a soft target in a war it knows nothing about? 

Today, there are calls from the kidnappers to leaders of the Catholic Church, asking for money. They had initially requested CFAF 50 million, but they seem to be facing huge problems as the Catholic Church is an institution which does not negotiate with criminals and does not pay ransom. 

Since the kidnappers are facing challenges, they are now asking for CFAF 25 million, but they will not be having any money from the Catholic Church which is currently looking for money to rehabilitate its schools which have been overwhelmed by wild weeds due to the crisis which has already consumed more than 7,000 lives and destroyed much needed and critical infrastructure.

Those who have kidnapped priests and burned the Nchang Catholic Church has crossed the reddest of all the red lines. The revolution has lost a key ally. Though the Catholic Church is not for any bloodshed, it has however been pushing for a peaceful resolution and this message was reiterated by Archbishop Andrew Nkea in his interview with the BBC.

Though the Archbishop reiterated the church’s willingness to call for peace and to urge both sides to come to the negotiating table, there are fears that the church might no longer be vocal in its condemnation of violence against the civilian population because of this heinous crime committed in Nchang.

Cameroon Concord News Group has dispatched a team to Mamfe to cover this incident and the Group is seeking to get in touch with those who have made this grievous mistake of burning a church and kidnapping the priests. Cameroon Concord News Group holds that those who control the kidnappers should immediately release the Men of God for their place is in the church and not in the bushes. 

The church’s role is to preach peace and call for calm and not to negotiate ransoms. Those who have committed this crime have clearly demonstrated that they do not really have any meaningful objective. They are giving the revolution a very bad name, the Cameroon Concord News Group’s Editor-in-chief, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, said.

He stressed that it was not yet late for those who are keeping the priests to do the right thing. “We cannot be complaining about violence by the military while other Southern Cameroonians are being kidnapped, tortured, and even killed by fellow Southern Cameroonians just because they have weapons. If this revolution will make sense to anybody, then the kidnappings and requests for ransom must stop. The population has suffered for too long and it is preposterous for any group to continue inflicting more pain on the people. Long periods of ghost town operations have robbed the regions of many economic opportunities and kidnapping for money is sending away any potential businesspeople who may want to give the anemic economy a shot in the arm. This barbarism must stop,” he underscored. 

By Dylan Tambe Ashu and Alain Agbor Ebot

Five Roman Catholic priests, a Religious Sister and two worshipers were kidnapped by unidentified people who set fire on the ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH NCHANG some few kilometers from Mamfe, the chief town in Manyu Division, South West on Friday.

Murders, lootings and kidnappings are frequent in Southern Cameroons, where Ambazonia Restoration Forces regularly target schools and teachers in particular, but also Catholic and Protestant churches and their prelates. But local bishops say Friday’s kidnapping is “completely unprecedented” in its scale and five priests, a Religious Sister and two faithful were kidnapped,” lamented the Episcopal Conference of Bamenda Province in a statement made public by His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea.

Attacks and kidnappings have not been claimed but are frequently perpetrated by separatist groups and most often end with the release of hostages for ransom or negotiations with local traditional and religious leaders.

Southern Cameroons populated mainly by Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, have been the scene for nearly six years of a very deadly conflict between armed groups demanding the independence of a state they call “The Federal Republic of Ambazonia” and massively deployed security forces under the power of 89-year-old President Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon with an iron fist for nearly 40 years.

The two camps are regularly accused by international NGOs and the UN of committing crimes and atrocities against civilians, the main victims of this war, and Mr. Biya of showing intransigence and carrying out relentless repression, in English-speaking Cameroon but also against any political opposition in the country.

The conflict has claimed more than 46,000 lives since late 2016 and forced more than a million people to move, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

By Rita Akana with files from AFP and Camcordnews

The crisis of Christian persecution in Southern Cameroons has grown in the face of continued inaction from the Biya regime in Yaoundé and law enforcement apparatus. The criminals have not been identified, but are likely Francophone soldiers benefitting from the war in Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia fighters, both of which terrorize and kill Christians in Anglophone Cameroon with impunity, knowing that in almost all cases there will be little or no significant response from the Biya Francophone government or Francophone dominated military. Both Cameroon government army soldiers and Ambazonia fighters have made the situation of Christians in the South West and North West regions a human rights catastrophe of immense proportions.

The Holy Father Pope Francis has implored the Cameroon government to make the plight of Christians in West Cameroon a top priority. Christians in Southern Cameroons are walking the way of the Cross. May our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ also bless them with the joy of a resurrection and new flourishing of their communities.

Unidentified armed men have razed the building of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Nchang village, Manyu Division, South West region.

By Fon Lawrence

Soldiers from the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) were called by Pastor Mary Wose to a PCC Kumba church service to arrest some worshippers as they clamoured for the resignation of Moderator Fonki Samuel.

The incident saw a team of Francophone BIR soldiers storming into the church premises to arrest Christians.

A local police officer attending the service at the church filmed the moment and shared the clip with Cameroon Concord News.

In the video, Protestants were heard shouting that “We are at church right now and Francophone soldiers called by Pastor Mary Wose just showed up and they are now arresting some Christians, so please pray for us right now.” The BIR army soldiers entered PCC Kumba and stopped the service.

The commander of the BIR elements reportedly walked to the altar and informed the congregation that they received a phone call from the Pastor.

Some of the worshippers were arrested and others asked to leave the church, to pray and worship at home and to wait for a decision from the Moderator who is currently in Germany heading a 5-man delegation to Karlsruhe.  

Some of the Christians led a protest march to the paramount leader of the Bafaws Chief Ekoko Mukete.

A church member claimed they are not law-breaking people as he complained to the Bafaw monarch.

By Rita Akana

While her husband (the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon) never takes her for his trips abroad or away from Buea, there are now allegations that Pastor Fonki Samuel continues to have sexual encounters with several ladies in the church.

Cameroon Intelligence Report has gathered from very reliable sources deep within the PCC hierarchy that Rev Dr Perpetual Fonki is aware of the social crimes of her moderator husband and how the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon uses the Church house as a sexual cave and painting his behaviour as a divine command.

Moderator Samuel Fonki is a known pastor who is not really a believer in Jesus Christ. He reportedly bribed to be elected to the position of Moderator and many Protestants were deceived into believing in him and believing in his work.

His counseling sessions mostly in expensive hotels in Douala are administered in privacy with women and in the absence of Dr Perpetual Fonki, the so-called Communications Secretary of the PCC in Cameroon.

“Apparently, there are many women who have complete access to the Moderator’s libido with the most prominent being Rev Mary Wose of the PCC Kumba” a member of the Presbyterian Church who asked not to be named told Cameroon Intelligence Report.

“The Moderator has been having sexual intercourse with many women in the PCC! Having sex in his office and the women are more than we can count. He has slept with almost all the women in the PCC” a retired Pastor tearfully hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report.

Our London Bureau Chief Isong Asu is currently investigating claims that Moderator Fonki Samuel may have slept with even minors.

A chartered member of PCC Mulheim in Germany was heard murmuring privately that “Moderator Fonki makes these desperate women think it’s all a spiritual direction from God. He appoints them to top positions in the PCC and employs some of them to teach in Presbyterian primary and secondary schools. He never attends any official function with his wife and even travels abroad with his mistresses and in some cases he has women kept for him by his acolytes upon arrival.”

His corrupt Synod feels boldly strong about his atrocious activities. No one in the current PCC hierarchy sees anything wrong with Moderator Fonki. It is like Presbyterians are giving what belongs to Caesar to Caesar.

Moderator Samuel Forba Fonki is having his fair share of free sex and there is never a day without a mention about the PCC Moderator’s keeping of multiple sexual partners and using his corrupt influence to elevate them into influential positions such as female Pastors, Chairperson of congregations, CWF leaders, Accountants or members of the Synod.

Today, women constitute 90% of the members of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon- majority of who are likely his sex slaves.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands, Moderator Fonki uses church money for the upkeep of his ladies. Mr. Fonki has friends in Europe and USA who make sure that during his fake Pastoral visits the PCC Moderator has multiple women during his stay in expensive hotels paid with funds from the congregations. During his foreign trips, these women take turns in cooking and serving him at his hotel.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group have never ever seen the Moderator and with his wife in public.  There is no photo in our archives where you will see the Moderator in any public event with his wife and children.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai