Kumbo, 07 May, 2021 / 7:21 pm (ACI Africa).
Bishop George Nkuo of Cameroon’s Kumbo Diocese has been lauded for his sacrifices and tireless service among the people of God under his pastoral care amid the Anglophone crisis.
In his homily during the Friday, May 7 Holy Mass to mark the fortieth Priestly anniversary of Bishop Nkuo, Archbishop Andrew Nkea said that the Bishop of Kumbo has continually exercised his ministry with love and care.
“Bishop George loves the people of Kumbo with his whole heart and is ready to die with them and for them,” Archbishop Nkea said during the Eucharistic celebration held at St. Augustine’s College Campus grounds in Kumbo.
He acknowledged with appreciation the Bishop Nkuo’s sense of duty saying that while the Diocese of Kumbo “remains one of the most affected centres of crisis and confrontation between warring factions” leading to the departure of people and the closure of businesses, “in all this conflict and situation, the Bishop of Kumbo did not run away from his diocese even for one day to hide and rest.”
Bishop Nkuo who was ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Buea in April 1981 “is ready to be the last man alive to tell the story of what has happened to the people of Kumbo,” the Archbishop of Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese said during the May 7 celebration.
He added in reference to Bishop Nkuo, “Even when some of his children treated him as a sheep drawn to the slaughter or like a criminal without a crime, he did not abandon his sheep to save his life.”
Making reference to the Gospel of John, which describes a good shepherd as one who is ready to lay down his life for the flock, Archbishop Nkea said, “The good shepherd does not only lay down his life for his sheep but is also ready to defend his sheep, bandage the wounded, support the weak and feed the hungry sheep.”
A good shepherd must have faith, courage, love and be ready to stand for the truth at all times, the Cameroonian Archbishop said, adding, “We saw all these qualities in Bishop George during the Ngarbuh massacre where he was ready to defend the poor and the weak sheep and to stake his own life so that the truth prevails. And the truth prevailed,” the Archbishop said.
In February 2020, the village of Ngarbuh within the Diocese of Kumbo was invaded by military personnel, an attack that left 24 civilians dead and hundreds displaced.
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