Late Belo Mayor, Dr Ngong Innocent, laid to rest.

A funeral ceremony to honour the fallen municipal authority was organised at Ecole de Poste in Yaounde on Saturday July 27, 2024.

Present at the funeral was a host of dignitaries, mayors, members of the academic family as well as family and friends. 

Former Prime Minister and President of the upcoming 79th United Nations General Assembly, Philemon Yang, and wife, Dr Mrs Linda Yang, attended the funeral.

Various speakers at the event described the late Mayor Ngong as a man who touched so many lives and had a vision to transform Belo municipality which had been hard-hit by the current armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions.

Boyo SDO condemns killing, urges separatist to drop arms 

The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Boyo, Saidou Moussa, who was the first official to speak at the funeral, said: “We are here today because we lost a great man”.

The administrator said just an hour before he was informed of the shooting to death of the Mayor Ngong Innocent, he had a phone conversation with him earlier.

Saidou Moussa said the killing of Mayor Dr Ngong is an act of self-destruction.

“People don’t know what it takes to train a Doctor [PhD]. It is easy to kill but many don’t know that Cameroon, North West Region, Boyo, Belo has lost an asset,” the SDO said. 

“Enough is Enough, we have to stop the destruction,” the SDO added, while calling on the separatist fighters in the Division to drop their guns.

Addressing the Boyo elite, the SDO, said: “You have to send this message to our people to drop their guns and join us so that together we can bring last peace to our country,”

On his part, the President of United Councils and Cities of Cameroon, UCCC, North West Chapter, Mayor Denis Awoh Ndang, said some mayors referred to the late Mayor Ngong as Mighty Belo.

This, he said, is because he stopped at nothing to make sure the name of Belo featured whenever it came to the allocation of development projects.

“He defended the decentralisation process in most of his media outings the Belo municipality as an example,” Ndang said.

He regretted the killing of Mayor Ngong and went on to express the worry that municipal authorities in the North West Region have. 

“The killing of the mayor of Belo came on the day we least expected because it was a National Day and forces of law and order were well alerted,” Awoh Ndang.

Appeal for more security 

Ndang said in just three months, they lost three of their colleagues killed suspected separatist, “starting with the 2nd deputy mayor of Balikumbat, first deputy mayor of Babessi and the mayor of Belo”.

He appealed to government for a special security cover, given that mayors are called upon to be in their municipalities in order to carry out development projects.

Speaking at the funeral, the First Deputy Mayor of Belo Council, Mbu Alice, said the late Dr Ngong Innocent “gave up all his pleasures including family time, academic pursuits, professional endeavours just to make ‘Belo Great Again’”.

She said Mayor Innocent Ankiambom identified in anyone talents and skills that could move Belo ahead in all domains.

“It’s only shameful and painful how someone, somewhere may think tat the exit of this “earth worker” shall lead to their rise…he who lives by the sword dies by same and he who kills to obtain may just be closer to his ow death,” Mbu Alice said.   

Rev Nfor Philemon, Patmost Baptist Church Jouvence, Yaounde, who delivered a sermon during the funeral said if Dr Ngong was killed, it is because God accepted it.

He called on mourners to give their lives to Christ, knowing that at any time, they can be called home by God Almighty. The late Dr Ngong Innocent was also accorded academic honours before he was taken to his final resting place. 

It should be noted that Dr Ngong Ngong Innocent was voted Mayor of Belo in February 2020, following the holding of the twin council and municipal elections.

He realised several projects in the municipality to the benefit of the local population but his vision of transforming Belo was cut short. 

He was killed same moment with Dr Anghi Aaron who was Inspector of Basic Education for Belo. 

By Hure Hamidou Abdu, Tabe Glory Ama & Carl Wobyeb (Journalism students on internship)

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3186 of Thursday August 01, 2024