By Moma Sandrine
Amidst the prevailing crisis in the North West Region of Cameroon, series of deaths are recorded on almost a daily basis. On October 1, 2018, two mad people were gunned down between Hospital Roundabout and Azire Old Church Quarter. These are just a few spotted lifeless bodies amongst the numerous deaths resulting from the crisis within the region.
On October 4, the Catholic Church again had to mourn the transition of one of theirs from this world to the land of the dead. Gerald Akiatah, a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Bamenda was shot by police officers at Bamessing few minutes after morning mass. Reports say he was shot in the neck at the church premises, where he gave up the ghost shortly afterwards.
Although this reporter could not lay hands on the exact reason why he was shot, unconfirmed sources say that he did nothing but obeyed the said police officers who ended up sending him on an errand to the land of his ancestors. The late Akiatah, a native of Njindom was in Bamessing preparing to go for his pro-paedeutic year in the spiritual Centre in Bafut, to continue his studies in becoming a Catholic priest. The aspiring priest had just completed from St Aloysius Minor Seminary Kitwum in June this year.
Following the demise of the young Seminarian, some priests and members of the Catholic Church set out on October 5 to get the mortal remains of their fallen brother. On their way, they were intercepted by the military and asked out of the ambulance then were told to return to where they were coming from. One of the military while speaking to the priests in French remarked “the men of the Catholic Church are all Ambazonians. We know you all including your Cardinal and all the Anglophone bishops”. Since all efforts to plead with the military were futile, the priests returned reluctantly hoping to go for the mortal remains on a more convenient day.
Since the start of the Anglophone crisis in the North West and South West regions of the country in 2016, at least 26 Roman Catholic priests have been victims of the excesses of security forces. To this effect, religious bodies have continued to make calls for prayers all over the nation so that peace can return to the country.