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Biya wipes Cardinal Tumi’s tears at mother’s funeral
- Tumi confirms he and Biya were never enemies after all
- Yaa Catherine Lahka Tumi (1897 – 2015) decorated posthumously as “Officer of the Cameroon Order of Merit” 
By Njodzefe Nestor in Kumbo 

Yaa Catherine Lahka Tumi

Cardinal Tumi’s mother, Yaa Catherine Lahka Tumi also fondly called ‘Yaawo Jos’ and ‘Mami Cardinal’, was posthumously decorated by the government of Cameroon, during her farewell mass at the Kumbo St Theresia Cathedral on Saturday June 27.
    A contingent of Gendarme officers treated mourners to a military parade as the Governor of the North West Region Adolphe Lele l’Afrique walked up towards the casket bearing Yaa Catherine Tumi, genuflected and then affixed the insignia of “Officer of the Cameroon National Order of Merit” on it.
    The posthumous decoration brought to two the decorations the Cardinal’s mother had received from the state in less than three years. The first was on 20 May 2013 in Kumbo during which she was awarded the medal of “Knight of the Cameroon Order of Merit”.
    Speaking on behalf of the family, Christian Cardinal Tumi, who was chief celebrant at the final funeral mass at the Kumbo Cathedral edified mourners with his masterly usage of the English, French, Latin and Lamso languages during the Eucharistic Celebrations.
Cardinal Tumi said he received the news of his mother’s passing from His Grace Samuel Kleda while attending a meeting in Ghana. He said the first thing that came to his mind was to thank God for life and death of his mother.
     The Cardinal expressed gratitude to the Holy See and President Paul Biya and his wife Chantal Biya for their condolence messages and concern.
    “President Paul Biya was the first to send me a message of condolence,” Cardinal Tumi noted, saying that contrary to what people think, he and President Paul Biya are not enemies.
    The cardinal explained that because he has the president’s ears, he uses every opportunity to always tell the president what he thinks is right. 
    Ahead of the funeral, the state ensured that every security disposition was taken and the stretch from Kimbo Squares through St Augustine College, SAC Junction to Kikaikelaki was rehabilitated. Even though, the heavy rains on the day of the funeral rendered the road mud-cursed.
    The electricity provider ENEO also dispatched a powerful technical team that installed street lighting and also ensured there was no power cuts during the vigil Mass at Kikaikelaki Parish.
    In his over 27 minutes homily while presiding at the funeral mass, Bishop George Nkuo of Kumbo described Yaa Catherine Lahka Tumi as someone whose love and attachment for the church was unflinching and very passionate.
    “Yaa Tumi was united with Jesus in the Sacraments of the Church,” Bishop Nkuo explained, noting that in recognition and appreciation of all her works to the church and in thanking God for her life the church has decided to respect her will and wish by burying her in the special part of the Cathedral Cemetery reserved for priests and early Christians.

    “In her will that was handed to me by my predecessor, His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua, Yaa Catherine Lahka Tumi expressed the wish to be buried among the priests in the church cemetery,” Bishop Nkuo corroborated.
    The Bishop reminded Cardinal Tumi that it was a blessing for him to bury his mother and not otherwise. He said Yaa Catherine’s age was extra-ordinary and a gift from God.
    The prelate described Yaa Catherine Lahka Tumi as someone with an alert and quick mind who always dominated conversations with vivid personal details irrespective of the intellectual level of her interlocutor.
    Closing the Eucharistic celebration, that was void of the tears of sadness that usually characterizes funeral masses, the Archbishop of Douala, His Grace Samuel Kleda, who doubles as President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon NECC, reminded Christian Cardinal Tumi that his mother was a mother for all. He said the presence and participation of the Douala Archdiocese at the funeral was testimony of their attachment to the departed.
    Earlier, in his close to thirty minutes homily at the vigil mass, Bamenda Auxiliary Bishop Mgr Agapitus Nfon said Yaa Catherine Tumi was the Mother of Cameroon by virtue of her faith and age and given that she was the oldest Catholic Christian in the country.
    “Her diverse background could be responsible for her long life on earth,” Mgr Nfon speculated.
    Among the sixteen Bishops and Archbishops that took part in the Eucharistic Celebration was the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, Pierro Pioppo, former Arch Bishop of Yaounde His Grace Victor Tonye Bakot and the retired Bishop of Mamfe, Mgr Francis Teke Lysinge.
    North west Governor and his wife also attended the vigil Mass among other dignitaries including notably Social Democratic Front, SDF National Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi, the Special Adviser of Cameroon’s Prime Minister, Francis Fonye, local administrative, municipal and traditional authorities and a cross section of the population.

Biography
    Yaa Catherine was born in 1897 around the Kikaikelaki area into a polygamous family. She was last in a family of seven; four girls and three boys. Her father was a migrant from Bamoun and a descendant of the Royal Family. Her mother was from Nkor in Noni Sub Division. In the 20s she married to Thomas Tumi. They gave birth to their first daughter Odilia Ghaila as pagans. Yaa Catherine was baptized December 17, 1926 together with her daughter.
    After Baptism, Catherine and Thomas got married as Christians on December 20, 1926. After their marriage, the husband left for a business trip to Nigeria and after a long wait she decided to join him there. In Nigeria she gave birth to three children all girls. Of her seven children, only three are alive including Christian Cardinal Tumi’ who is the first to be baptized in the Kikaikelaki Catholic Church. Yaa Catherine lives behind three children and over 150 grand, great, and great, great grandchildren.