Late Cameroon’s Cardinal Eulogized as Man of Prayer, Peace Crusader, Voice of voiceless

Douala, 03 April, 2021 / 5:32 PM

Cameroonians are paying glowing tribute to Christian Cardinal Tumi who died Saturday, April 3, describing him as a prayerful servant of God who defended the deprived and championed peace initiatives in Cameroon.

In his communique announcing the death of the 90-year-old Catholic Church leader, Archbishop Samuel Kleda who succeeded the late Cardinal as Archbishop of Cameroon's Douala Archdiocese says, “It is with profound sadness and deep sorrow that I announce to you the passing on of His Eminence Christian Cardinal Tumi. He died in the early hours of Saturday, April 3 after an illness.”

In his communique, Archbishop Kleda invites the people of God under his jurisdiction to “pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Tumi.”

Funeral arrangements will be announced later, the Cameroonian Prelate who succeeded the Cardinal as Archbishop of Douala in November 2009 says.

In another communique obtained by ACI Africa, members of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) extend their condolences to the people of God in Douala Archdiocese and the “natural” family of the late Cardinal.

“In the name of the Bishops of Cameroon and in his own name, Mgr. Abraham Kome expresses to all the faithful of the Archdiocese of Douala as well as to his natural family his deepest condolences and assure them of his full compassion,” the Church leaders say in the message issued Saturday, April 3.

In the message signed by NECC Secretary General, Fr. Jervis Kebei Kewi, the Bishops in Cameroon invite the Christian Community, relatives, friends and acquaintances and all people of good will “to prayer and recollection, to accompany this tireless servant of the Roman Catholic Church in peace and dignity to the House of the Eternal Father.”

Speaking to ACI Africa, NECC President, Bishop Abraham Kome eulogized the late Cardinal as “a man who dedicated his whole life to defend the teachings of the Church, and the rights of the people.”

“May the departure of this great servant of the Church be a source of hope, a sign for new vocations and a symbol of faith for the people of God in Cameroon,” Bishop Kome who has been at the helm of Cameroon’s Bafang Diocese since July 2012 implored.

Ordained a Priest in 1966, the late Prelate, the first to be named Cardinal in the Central African nation, was appointed Bishop of Cameroon’s Yagoua Diocese in December 1979 and ordained Bishop in January 1980.

Two years later, he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Garoua. He succeeded late Archbishop Yves-Joseph-Marie Plumey in 1984. 

He was elevated to Cardinal in June 1988 and transferred to the Archdiocese of Douala in 1991.

The late Cardinal has been vocal, cautioning against bad governance, rampant corruption and electoral malpractices. He has been a supporter of peace initiatives in the Central African nation.

At the peak of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, the late Cardinal launched a nationwide crusade advocating for peace in the troubled North West and South West regions.

“The popular initiative for peace that we want to put in place will not be a rosary, incantations, a profession of faith or an avenue for strong declarations,” Cardinal Tumi said in August 2019, and added, “the crisis can no longer be healed by simple words or condemnation, but with concrete actions on the field.”

Last November, Cardinal Tumi was abducted in the troubled North West region of Cameroon. He was on November 6 after a night with his captors.

Kidnapped alongside twelve other people, including the traditional Chief of the Nso tribe, Fon Sehm Mbinglo II allegedly by a group of armed separatists under the leadership of one, “General Chaomao,” the late Cardinal had been accused of “creating problems in our territory,” his captors claiming that they had held him for “questioning.”

In a video shared on social media, the Cardinal’s captors tell him, “Let the government know that we will never lay down our arms until we are free because we are fighting for our rights. We are not rebels; we are not barbaric as the government says; we are fighting for our rights as a people.” 

In the video, the Cardinal is seen responding to his captors, “I am a Cameroonian citizen like you. I am not part of the government. I am totally independent of what I say. I am not the mouthpiece of the government and am not employed by the government.”

“If you have done wrong, I will tell you that you have done wrong; if the government has done wrong, I will tell them that they have done wrong!” the Cardinal further responds in the November 2020 video recording.

(Story continues below)

For Martin Jumbam, the co-author of Cardinal Tumi’s memoir published under the title, “My Night in Captivity,” “A huge heart has ceased to beat! A great soul has joined the Redeemer in His moments of agony and together they make a triumphal entry into the Father's kingdom!”

“I owe my return to the faith to Christian Cardinal Tumi when l joined him in what he called ‘The March for Peace’ in 1993,” Mr. Jumbam told ACI Africa in an interview April 3.

He continued in reference to the late Cardinal, “I have since had the chance to work in close quarters with him for the past nearly three decades.”

“What l consider my last achievement with him, and for him, is my collaboration in his recent memoir ‘My Night in Captivity’, following his recent travails in the hands of separatist forces in the restive northwestern region of Anglophone Cameroon,” Mr. Jumbam, who hosts programs on the Catholic Archdiocese of Douala-owned Radio Veritas that was founded by the late cardinal told ACI Africa.

He added, “A man of peace has left us but the olive branch he carried with him to his final days remains evergreen. We have a Saint above who will continue to pray for elusive peace to finally make its home in our land. I am glad the Lord did lead me to know and work with him.”

On his part, Fr. Michel Tchoumbou Ngantchop of Douala Archdiocese has eulogized the Church leader as prayerful, “a great Priest” who was “outspoken.”

“I worked very closely with the Cardinal and I came to know him as a man of deep prayer,” Fr. Tchoumbou told ACI Africa Saturday, April 3.

The late Cardinal “spent several hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament. The Cardinal will never miss his prayer hours,” the Cameroonian Cleric further said, and continued, “We have lost a great Priest, a pastor, an outspoken somebody. He is my closest experience to physical Sainthood. He was a great man and a father to many.”

Fr. Etienne Bakaba who was ordained a Priest by the late Cardinal told ACI Africa, “Cardinal Tumi was a Priest that was guided by faith.”

“He was not only great in height and voice; he was great in faith. What can sum up the Cardinal's life is the courage of his faith,” Fr. Bakaba said.

Cardinal Tumi, the Cameroonian Cleric further said, “loved the celebration of the Eucharist. That is why Pope John Paul II made him a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.”

“With his dual Anglophone and Francophone culture, Cardinal Tumi was the prototype of the leader that Cameroon needs today in our crisis context,” Fr. Bakaba told ACI Africa April 3, adding in reference to the late Cardinal, “God loved him very much. God gave him much. God will ask more of him. Good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in a few things, enter into the joy of your Master.”

For the couple that coordinates the family Apostolate in the Archdiocese of Douala, Cardinal Tumi was at the forefront of their vocation in the family apostolate.

“The Cardinal sent us to study at the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences and with him we reorganized the family apostolate in the Archdiocese of Douala,” Aïcha Marianne Kenne Sob in Kola told ACI Africa.

She continued, “As a true defender of life, together with the Cardinal, we organized the popular march against the signing of the Maputo Protocol in Cameroon back in 2009.”

“The Family was at the center of his pastoral mission in the Archdiocese of Douala. He encouraged the creation of Small Christian Communities (SCC) and insisted on the teaching of the doctrine of the Church within families,” she said.

Mrs Kola implored, “Let us continue to pray for our Father the Cardinal. He was a great man and lived a holy life. Go well our dear father in faith.”

For Ewane Epote Kassy, “Cameroon has lost its lone Cardinal, an outspoken Prelate and an epitome of hope to the hopeless, undeterred voice to the voiceless, oppressed and a peace crusader.”