“Show mercy”, Catholic Archbishop in Cameroon Appeals to Kidnappers Holding Woman

“These grandchildren and children are waiting for their Mom and Grand Mom to come back home to enjoy her love again,” he said.

Archbishop Nkea said that Mrs. Mundi was a member of the first batch of Queen of the Rosary College, Okoyong, in the South-West region of Cameron and “a very respectable OPSAN”.

“Her OPSAN (Okoyong Past Students Association) friends are waiting for her,” Archbishop Nkea said of the kidnapped woman, and added, “She worked for the course of rural women, was a devout Presbyterian Christian, a member of Bali women's groups and a very peaceful soul, living her widowhood and struggling for survival.”

He called for people of goodwill with details of the whereabouts of Mrs. Mundi to help in securing her release.

The Catholic Archbishop said, “I appeal to anyone who has any influence over those holding Mrs. Mundi to return her to her family unhurt.”

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He went on to appeal for prayers to secure the release of the Cameroonian lawmaker, saying, “I call on the Christians and People of Goodwill in Bamenda and beyond, to pray unceasingly for Mrs. Mundi and for any other people who are in captivity and in prison, that they may return to their families soonest.”

The kidnapping is one of the latest incidents in the protracted conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and the South West regions. The conflict was sparked by a protest involving lawyers and teachers in 2016. 

An armed separatists’ movement claiming independence for the so-called republic of Ambazonia emerged following the government’s crackdown on the protests.

English speakers make up around 20 percent of the country’s population and have long complained about being marginalized by the French-speaking ruling class.

In the May 10 report, Archbishop Nkea expressed solidarity with those who have lost their lives in the ongoing conflict and those who continue to languish in captivity.  

“We pray strongly that this crisis will know a solution very soon and that Jesus Christ will bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives, give new sight to the blind, set the downtrodden free and proclaim the Lord's Year of favor,” the Catholic Archbishop said, referencing the Prophet Isaiah.

He added, still referencing the Prophet Isaiah, “We shall continue to pray until the days when Justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fails.”

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.