Months after losing wife: Full Gospel pastor shot dead in presence of his children.

The spiritual leader is reported to have been pulled out of his house and killed by unidentified individuals in the Mile Three Nkwen vicinity, Bamenda III Subdivision, Mezam Division of the North West Region.

Rev Mbakwa, we gathered, died while being rushed to the hospital.

Sources familiar with the incident are quoted as having revealed that the Man of God was with his children when they were attacked by the armed individuals. 

The clergy is said to have been pulled out of his house and gunned in the presence of his children.

The death of the pastor, sources say, comes barely months after the death of his wife in June, following a surgical operation that did not go well.

Reports hold that after Bible study on Wednesday, his brother paid him a visit and after their exchange, he went to see him off and when he returned, he found three masked men in his yard.

The armed individuals are said to have dragged him into his bedroom, where they took money from him and then took him to the living room in front of his five children and elderly mother. They are said to have pulled out a gun and shot him on his chest.

Rev. Mbakwa Alfred, according sources, was also a teacher and Board president of a cooperative credit union in Bamenda.

An investigation is said to have been opened to ascertain the exact motive of his killers, while the body of the Servant of God was ferried to the mortuary, pending further investigations and funeral arrangements.

Family, friends mourn great man

Since the announcement of the passing away of the pastor, friends, families and Christians have been mourning the exemplary Servant of God who he was.

Among those who took out time to mourn the Man of God was Ndifor Richard, who noted: “…the violence and terror that have plagued the North West and South West Regions struck painfully, as my beloved cousin, Rev. Mbakwa Alfred, a gentle soul who wouldn't hurt a fly, was shot and killed in his own home. In a desperate bid to save his life, he complied with the gunmen's demands, handing over all the money he had, yet it proved futile”. 

Ndifor went on to note that the anguish of losing someone so kind and selfless is overwhelming, leaving him to grapple with the heartbreak and confusion of whether the tragedy is rooted in the ongoing conflict in the two English-speaking Regions or if others are simply exploiting the chaos to settle personal scores. 

“…The world feels darker today without him…,” he lamented.

Emmanuel Muda, for his part, lamented : “Oh Lord, have mercy! My heart is shattered upon hearing the devastating news of Rev. Mbakwa Alfred’s brutal assassination in front of his children...this Man of God just buried his late wife a couple of months ago! No words can express the depth of my sorrow. May God's comfort, peace, and strength envelop his children and the church in this unimaginable pain. May His presence be our rock in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

“My heart is heavy, I am in pain to hear of your painful exit. My Daddy, My pastor, my coach. Let your blood that is spilled cry before your God for vengeance. I can hear you singing the hymn ‘In the cross, in the cross’. Rest in peace, rest in power a firebrand preacher. Till we meet again to part no more Daddy Mbakwa Alfred,” Dogo Stanley wrote.

To another preacher, the life of Pastor Mbakwa Alfred has been a testament to God's love, and his martyrdom will not be in vain. His legacy, the preacher said, will live on and continue to inspire many of them to continue spreading the Gospel, even in the face of adversity.

“God will bring justice and peace to this troubled world at the appointed time. We will miss him, but we will continue to run the race, fuelled by courage and faith,” the preacher prayed.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3223 of Sunday September 08, 2024