Calm and serenity reigned as the peace-loving people of Nkambe in the Donga Mantung Division of the North West region, joined in nationwide celebrations of the National Day on Monday, May 20, 2024.
The Senior Divisional Officer, (SDO), for Donga Mantung, Basseliken Georges Emmanuel Magloire, presided over activities marking the 52nd edition of the day at the emblematic Fon Ibrahim Jabfu grandstand.
Commemorated this year under the theme: “Army and Nation: Together for a United, Peaceful and Prosperous Cameroon”, the people of Nkambe used the National Day feast to reaffirm their resolve for a peaceful and united country.
This, they did through the chanting of patriotic songs and the display of peace plants; signifying their commitment to peace.
Impressive military, civilian parades
The population defied calls by separatist fighters for a boycott of the event and turned out massively to be part of the history-making celebration.
Clad in clean, well-ironed uniforms and polished shoes, pupils and students from Primary and Secondary, as well as Vocational Institutions of Learning, started trooping into the ceremonial ground where members of the Armed Forces had been stationed as early as 7:30am.
Upon his arrival on scheduled time, the SDO was received by the Divisional Officer, (DO), and Mayor of Nkambe alongside the Commander of 52nd Motorized Infantry Battalion, (BIM). He then reviewed troops after the singing of the national anthem, paving the way for parades.
The military parade saw the various units of the Cameroon Armed Forces found in the division; the National Gendarmerie, Army, Rapid Intervention Battalion, (BIR), the Police, Penitentiary Administration as well as Ex-service, file past before the SDO and his guests.
Lieutenant Amadou Joseph of the 52nd BIM commanded the troops.
Then came the grand civilian march past with an impressive participation of pupils, students and sympathisers of some political parties with the CPDM overshadowing.
Gendarmerie Company Commander knighted
Before the military opened the parade, the SDO, on behalf of the Head of State, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, decorated the Gendarmerie Company Commander for Nkambe, Captain Timchia Elma Kisuh with a Medal of Valiancy, for bravery and the maintenance of law and order. It is the highest distinction awarded to members of the Forces of Law and Order in the country for acts of bravery. He was the lone medal recipient of the day.
It should be said that thanks to the combined efforts of the population, the elite and the Defence and Security Forces, Nkambe has remained relatively peaceful and saving as safe haven for people from neighboring neighborhoods affected by the bloody armed conflict in the North West and South West regions.
However, in what authorities described as an isolated incident, a blast killed one person on February 11 this year as several schoolchildren were taking part in Youth Day activities at the grandstand – an act that generated global condemnation.
The 18th Gendarmerie Company Commander serving in Nkambe, Timchia is a graduate of the University of Yaounde II, Soa. The holder of a Master’s Degree in International Law, is a product of the Yaounde Combined Military Services Academy, known by its French language acronym as EMIA.
The former student of Government High School Belo in the Boyo Division of the North West region, and 2015 batch of young soldiers admitted into EMIA, is an anti-terrorism expert with two diplomas in Anti-terrorism; one obtained from Morocco Royal Military School and another from the International Anti-terrorism Academy in Abidjan, specializing in Cyber Criminality.
Samba Kingsley contributed to this report from Nkambe
