“In our frustrations, our pain, and uncertainties, we are called to unite all these with the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ especially given that we are currently observing the Lenten period in the Church,” the Local Ordinary of Bamenda, who doubles as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) said on March 12.
In a statement he issued on February 24, Archbishop Nkea expressed his solidarity with the victims of the inferno that “left many families and the entire population of Bamenda and beyond in pain and desperation.”
In his statement, he assured the victims his “closeness and prayers,” describing the incident which he likened to the biblical story of Job as “unfortunate.”
“My dear people, we are faced with a similar situation like Job, with many questions in our minds, wondering why such things should happen especially at this moment when we are still being tormented by the crisis plaguing the North West and the South West Regions of Cameroon,” Archbishop Nkea said.
“I implore you, like Job, to hold firm to the God who blessed Job's latter condition even more than his former one,” he said in his February 24 statement.
On March 2, an inferno at a family house in Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea resulted in the death of four siblings.
In a statement, Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Buea Diocese commiserated with the family on the fatal incident that he said “shocked not only the members of that community but every other Cameroonian.”
“Three of the Children, Negou Mariana Britney (class 6), Negou Prince David (class 5), and Elizclaire Maya (class 1), were all pupils of the Catholic Primary School in Batoke,” Bishop Bibi said in his March 3 statement, adding, “The fourth child, Mbong Bella, their kid sister of about one year and some months, died along with them in the fire.”
“I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the Conte family for this loss of their dear children; four children, from two sisters,” the Cameroonian Catholic Bishop said.
Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.
