Anglophone Conflict:

Slain COMINSUD Worker Laid To Rest

By Wifah Jennyhans in B’da

Pascal Ngwayi, a Humanitarian Worker has been laid to rest

Pascal Ngwayi, a Humanitarian Worker with COMINSUD, a local NGO, and UN has been laid to rest in Nkambe after he was abducted on Saturday, 30 November and later killed by unknown armed men believed to be separatist fighters.

 Ngwayi was buried on Saturday, 7 December, during an emotional funeral which saw the presence of at least five UN officials actively participating, among them two (2) Europeans and three (3) Africans. They came notably from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said a source.

                During a funeral mass in Nkambe, Rev Kushu Solii Ngah intrigued mourners at the Christ the King Parish Church Nkambe Town with the theme; “Where is your brother Abel?”

                Drawing inspiration from Gen 4:4-11 Psalm 23; 1 Cor. 15: 29-32; John 6:52-58, the Man of God said God created all and sundry in his image and likeness, adding “the life and death of each of us should concern all of us. God is asking all of us this question; “Where is Pascal, your brother?”

                Rev Kushu reminded mourners of the first reading which presents a first instance where God pronounces a curse on a human being for committing fratricide or murder motivated by malicious jealousy.  To amplify how killing another is, the priest invoked the story of Cain and Abel.

                The priest regretted that like Abel, Pascal was killed for thinking different; Paschal was killed for holding a rosary, Pascal was killed for doing a humanitarian action to mediate charity for those suffering as a consequence of the war in English Cameroon; Pascal was Killed like Christ his Lord by some heartless, merciless, inhuman beings who have given their lives to the service of the one whose essence is to deceive, to kill, to steal and to destroy.

                Even in just war circumstances, humanitarian workers, health workers, clergy and religious workers and workers of organizations responsible for the common good are always protected and defended by both warring parties, he echoed.

                The UN also regretted Pascal’s death, saying it’s a blow to Humanitarian work. UN Systems Coordinator for Cameroon, Allegra Baiocchi, said in a statement on Sunday, 1 December that she strongly condemns the killing of an aid worker in North-west Cameroon.

                Pascal’s funeral was satisfactorily attended, including members of COMINSUD, the aid agency where he worked before his death.