Peterkins Manyong & Willibroad Nformi
12 May 2008
Emmanuel Nsahlai, son of Christopher Nsahlai who passed away on April 18, has said his father did not die a natural death.
Late Nsahlai's son, who made this declaration while presenting eulogies before his father's burial, Saturday, May 10, later told the press that his father had a clean bill of health after a recent medical checkup in the US where both of them went.
Doctors who carried out autopsy on Nsahlai's corpse could not identify any particular ailment that could have killed him. The suddenness of the death (within 48 hours after he took ill) confirmed that there was something fishy about it. Nsahlai's son, however, didn't point accusing fingers at anybody.
Jean Nkuete, Vice Prime Minister in charge of Agriculture, who represented President Paul Biya on the occasion, expressed a similar view before proceeding to decorate Nsahlai posthumously with the title "Commander of the Cameroon Order of Valour.
This view about Nsahlai's death contradicted the declaration of the officiating priest at the funeral who said those saying Nsahlai died an unnatural death dishonoured God because it demonstrated lack of faith in Him as the giver and taker of life.
Eulogies during and after the ecumenical service that preceded the funeral, all described late Nsahlai as a very generous, courageous, hardworking and patriotic person.Hon. Bochong Francis Nkwain and Ignatius Dingha, Balikumbat CPDM President, represented the CPDM hierarchy.
After decoration and military honours, General Ivo Yenwo permitted Nso traditional authorities to go ahead and bury Nsahlai traditionally. This meant giving Nso traditional authorities the freedom to bury him as a Shufai, Nformi, and Ngwang, some of the traditional titles given him.
The traditional authorities were thus free to bury him with an axe, machete, or spear to enable his spirit to pursue and destroy his killers, rituals which his family didn't approve of as it meant usurping the function of God, the only being with the right to execute vengeance.
Nsahlai's last journey began with the removal of his corpse from the Yaounde General Hospital on Thursday, May 8. This was followed by wake keeping at his Nsimeyong residence in Yaounde. The corpse was then taken to Jakiri via Bamenda.
There was another wake keeping in Jakiri on the eve of his burial on Saturday. Present at the funeral were top CPDM and opposition dignitaries, among them SDF National Chairman, John Fru Ndi and Joseph Owona.
Late Nsahlai, who held many influential positions while alive, died at the age of 65, leaving behind a wife, six children and thousands of well-wishers, among them politicians to mourn him.
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