Albert Ndongmo
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Albert Ndongmo (26 September 1926 – 29 May 1992) was Bishop of Nkongsamba in
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
between June 1964 and January 1973. In 1970 he was arrested, accused of treasonous dealings with rebels, and sentenced to death by a military tribunal. His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, of which he served five years before the President ordered his release. After being released he moved to Rome and then to Canada, where he spent the rest of his life.


Early career

Albert Ndongmo was born on 26 September 1926 in Bafou,
French Cameroons French Cameroon, also known as the French Cameroons (), was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. Eastern part of the former German colony of Cameroon (). Its status, from ...
, near
Dschang Dschang is a city located in the West (Ouest) Province of Cameroon, with an estimated population of 87,000 (est) in 2001, growing dramatically from 21,705 recorded in 1981. The 2006 Population is estimated to be 200,000 inhabitants. Dschang is th ...
, to a Christian family of
Bamiléké people The Bamiléké people are an ethnic group of Central Africa that inhabits the Western High Plateau colloquially known as the ''grassfields'' of Cameroon. According to Dr John Feyou de Hapy, Bamiléké means "people of faith". Languages The Bam ...
. On 19 September 1940 he entered the small seminary at
Melong (; ) is a Tibetan term that means "mirror", "looking glass". The is a symbol, divine attribute, and quality of the enlightened mindstream or . You should look in the mirror and see your being and how it seems to be. Just actually looking in ...
, against the wishes of his parents. In January 1947 he was admitted to the large seminary at Mvolyé. A year later Castor Osendé Afana came to the Mvolyé seminary, and the two became close friends. Ndongmo was ordained on 21 December 1955 at
Nkongsamba Nkongsamba is a city in western Cameroon. It is in the Moungo department, which is in the Littoral. As of the 2005 Census, the city had a population of 104,050. It is a centre for the farming of palm oil, bananas and coffee, and is between two ...
. He was appointed chaplain of the Nkongsamba diocese in 1959. On 15 March 1960, Ndongmo launched the journal ''L'Essor des jeunes'' to impart Christian values to young people. With this journal, Ndongmo wanted to provide a forum for open debate of contemporary problems. He saw freedom of expression as the cornerstone of an integrated system of political, social, personal and intellectual belief, and attempted to use the journal for this purpose, although he was forced to work within a very limited budget. The journal was stamped with Ndongmo's personality. He used it, and his "ecclesiastical immunity" to ignore the censors and criticize the regime. In April 1970 the archbishop Jean Zoa wanted to move ''L'Essor'' to
Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...
and to make it a monthly Catholic journal for young people throughout the country. Although he agreed in principle with the need for a national journal, Ndongmo resisted the move and the change was not implemented. The regime viewed ''L'Essor des Jeunes'' as a subversive publication, particularly when it occasionally printed Ndongmo's pastoral letters, or extracts from his sermons, and suppressed it after arresting Ndongmo in 1970. After Cameroon gained independence in 1960,
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( - UPC) is a political party in Cameroon. It was one of the main belligerents in the Cameroon War. Foundation The UPC was founded on 10 April 1948, at a meeting in the bar ''Chez Sierra'' in Bassa. Twelve ...
(UPC) rebels who had been fighting the French colonial government continued to fight the government of President
Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister of Cameroon, Prime Minister from the country's indepe ...
, whom they considered to be a puppet of the French. Ahidjo had asked the French to lend troops to keep the peace during and after the transition to democracy. Led by General Max Briand, who had served previously in Algeria and Indochina, these troops conducted a brutal "cleansing" campaign in the
Bamiléké The Bamiléké people are an ethnic group of Central Africa that inhabits the Western High Plateau colloquially known as the ''grassfields'' of Cameroon. According to Dr John Feyou de Hapy, Bamiléké means "people of faith". Languages The Bam ...
territory of the
West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
,
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and Littoral provinces. By some reports, over a quarter of a million people died. The rebel leader
Ernest Ouandié Ernest Ouandié (1924 – 15 January 1971) was a leader of the struggle for independence of Cameroon in the 1950s who continued to resist the government of President Ahmadou Ahidjo after Cameroon was granted a nominal independence by French pres ...
, a Bamiléké like Ndongmo, refused to recognise Ahidjo and continued guerilla warfare. The diocese of Nkongsamba was in the main combat zone.


Bishop of Nkongsamba

Ndongmo was named Bishop of Nkongsamba on 16 June 1964, was consecrated bishop on 16 August that year and was enthroned the same day by Archbishop Jean Zoa. He succeeded
Paul Bouque Paul Bouque (6 July 1896 – 15 August 1979) was Bishop of Nkongsamba, Cameroon, from September 1955 until 16 June 1964, when he resigned. Life Paul Bouque was born in Hauconcourt, France on 6 July 1896. He was ordained a priest of Congregation o ...
in this position. He was the first local bishop of Nkongsamba, which at that time included the whole Bamiléké area. In the later part of 1965 he attended the third and fourth sessions of the fourth period of the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
in Rome. He made an oral intervention on "the ministry and
sacerdotal In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance ...
life of priests" on 16 October 1965. The intervention was incomplete, since his was the sixteenth and last of the session and he did not have time to conclude it. Cardinal Lercaro, moderating the session, politely invited him to submit his observations to the Secretariat in writing. He submitted a written intervention on "
Christological In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...
, ecclesiological and anthropological foundations of the missionary activity of the Church". Ndongmo was thought to have personal political ambitions, perhaps even aspiring to the presidency. He understood and to some extent agreed with the UPC since he too was opposed to the dictatorial regime, although he did not support the revolutionary guerrilla movement. He sympathized with the Bamiléké insurgents but accepted that the region need peace in order to develop economically. It was reported that he visited Algers from May to June 1968 to ask for funds for the UPC from the Algerian government. Such a trip could not have been reconciled with his pastoral duties. He may have served as a postbox, passing communications between the local and exiled branches of the UPC. His statements on political subjects earned him the hostility of others in the church as well as of the government. According to Ndongmo, in 1965 President Ahidjo asked him to try to mediate with Ernest Ouandié, now the last active rebel leader, to try to end the fighting. In the following years Ndongmo had a series of meetings with the rebels. In July or August 1970 Ouandié called for help, and Ndongmo picked him up in his car and took him to his own house, where he let him stay for several nights. Ndongmo claimed that his actions were consistent with President Ahidjo's instructions. Possibly, Ndongmo was being used as bait to capture Ouandié.


Charges and imprisonment

On 11 August 1970 Ndongmo wrote to ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' to contradict a false accusation that a stock of arms had been found at the "Mungo Plastique" company, of which he was the manager, and to state that two European technical advisors at that company had been expelled only because their papers were not in order. The prime minister of East Cameroon,
Simon Pierre Tchoungui Simon Pierre Tchoungui (28 October 1916 – 23 July 1997) was a medical doctor who was appointed Prime Minister of East Cameroon from October 1965 until 20 May 1972, when the United Republic of Cameroon came into being. Early years Simon Pierr ...
, asked the Pope to summon Ndongmo to Rome and to then invite him to remain there. Ahidjo and Archbishop Jean Zoa were apparently behind the request, wanting to get Ndongmo out of the way. In Rome, Ndongmo was questioned about his ownership of the plastics factory in
Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...
. Ndongmo explained he had set up the factory only to give the diocese financial independence, so it did not have to rely on Western aid. The
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
was against this and other enterprises with which Ndongmo had hoped to fund the diocese, schools and hospitals and to create a retirement fund for priests and old people. He was reprimanded by the Vatican for his economic and political activity. Before leaving for Rome, Ndongmo sent Ouandié to take refuge with his catechist on the outskirts of Mbanga. The catechist refused to accept Ouandié, and alerted the police. Ouandié went on the run, but was in unfamiliar territory and was hunted by the local people as well as the police. Eventually, tired, thirsty and hungry, he gave himself up. Two days after Ouandié's arrest, on 21 August 1970 the Minister of Justice, Félix Sabal Lecco, announced that the security services had discovered a plot to assassinate the head of state by Ouandie in which Ndongmo was complicit. It was clear that the authorities planned to convict Ndongmo in his absence. He managed to convince the Vatican officials to let him return to defend himself. On Ndongmo's return to Cameroon on 27 August 1970, he found from a newspaper headline that he had been suspended from his position by Rome.
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
had named Georges Siyam Siewe as apostolic administrator "''Sede Plena''" for Nkongsamba, taking over all active duties. although Ndongmo remained bishop. Ndongmo went at once to visit the Bishop of Douala. A car was sent to arrest him there and take him to the military prison in Yaoundé. Ndongmo was placed in a cell of his own, separated from the other prisoners. His legs and arms were chained, although the handcuffs were removed after a protest by his lawyer. He and Ouandié were otherwise not mistreated, were given normal food, and often had a glass of wine with their meal. A doctor checked their condition frequently. He and the other accused were interrogated by Jean Fochivé, director of the regime's SEDOC political police force, over the next five months. Ouandié was tried in December 1970 and condemned to death. Ndongmo was tried by a military tribunal that opened on 5 January 1971. He and two others were found guilty and sentenced to death, but on 14 January 1971 his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Ouandié was executed by firing squad on 15 January 1971 at Bafoussam. Ndongmo was sent to a prison camp in
Tcholliré Tcholliré is a town and commune in Cameroon. Tcholliré Prison Designed in 1965, the main prison of Tcholliré II was known as the Centre de Rééducation Civique (CRC) (Civic re-education Centre) until the reform of the prison regime in Cameroo ...
. He resigned from his position as Bishop on 29 January 1973. The Pope named Thomas Nkuissi to succeed Ndongmo as acting bishop of Nkongsamba. The church and the state had established an uneasy truce that was severely damaged by the "Ndongmo affair". Ndongmo's arrest, trial and imprisonment engendered ongoing hostility from the church towards the Cameroon state and created intense controversy within the church. Some Catholics condemned Archbishop Zoa for being too close to the government, and for possibly assisting in removal of a popular rival. The affair also caused tension between Muslims and Christians: several churches were burned in the North.


Later career

President Ahidjo ordered Ndongmo's release in 1975 shortly before a presidential "election". Under an agreement between Ahidjo and the Vatican, Ndongmo had to leave Cameroon for Rome. Later he moved to Canada, where he was given citizenship and lived out the rest of his life. An acquaintance met him at
Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...
in
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
. He was in good spirits, working on his prison writings and planning to take a course at the university. He described how he had passed the time while imprisoned by gardening and "writing without paper." Ahidjo resigned the Presidency in November 1982 and in February 1984 a Cameroon military tribunal sentenced him to death in absentia. Ndongmo visited Cameroon twice after this, once when
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
visited the country in August 1985, and again in 1989 when he was invited to work on the episcopal council of Central African bishops at Yaounde. Albert Ndongmo died on 29 May 1992 in Quebec. His body was returned to Cameroon and was buried in the run-down cathedral at Nkongsamba in an elaborate ceremony.


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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ndongmo 1926 births 1992 deaths Bamileke people People from West Region (Cameroon) Cameroonian exiles 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Cameroon Roman Catholic bishops of Nkongsamba