Cameroon: Archbishop Demands Answers for Murder of Bishop Bala

Bafia — Archbishop Samwel Kleda of Douala has demanded answers for the murder of Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Bala of Bafia Diocese.

"We continue to ask a question about the circumstances of his death. Why was he killed? ... This situation is unacceptable, we want to know the truth," he said June 2, in the diocese of Bafia, during the first anniversary of the death of Bishop Bala on June 2, 2017.

Bishop Bala's body was discovered June 2, 2017, inside Sanaga River, in Ebebda, 78 km from Yaoundé. He had been reported missing on May 31, 2017. His car was found on the Sanaga River Bridge with his identity card on the back seat and a note saying "I'm in the water".

"It is impossible to forget that our brother, Bishop Jean Marie Benoit Bala, has left us in troubling circumstances," said Bishop Kleda, who is also President of the Cameroonian Bishops' Conference

Cameroon: Archbishop Demands Answers for Murder of Bishop Bala

According to La Croix Africa, Bishop Bala's death, is widely believed to be a murder and not by drowning as it had been widely claimed.

Faithful of Bafia diocese gathered on Saturday, June 2, 2018, on the banks of the Sanaga River, to commemorate first anniversary since his death.

At the end of the commemoration Mass, the bishops present threw flowers in the Sanaga River in memory of Bishop Bala. Reported La Croix Africa.

Bishop Kleda also mentioned that the Catholic Church had filed a complaint in the Cameroonian courts after the death of Bishop Bala and filed a civil suit, but still no satisfactory answers have been given.

The validation session of the first phase of the Universal Health Coverage in Cameroon was organised in Yaounde.

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