Attacks in Mbat and Guidaido Must Not Be Overlooked, Kumbo Bishop Urges

By Njodzeka Kernyuy

The Bishop of the Kumbo, Mgr George Nkuo, has warned that violence risks becoming normalized in the diocese as he condemned recent killings in the villages of Mbat and Guidaido in Donga Mantung Division, North West.

He said these acts of community violence, which left people killed, dozens displaced and property destroyed, should not be overlooked.

The Bishop shared this in a grieving message to Christians who have begun Lent—a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in the Catholic Church.

“In all parts of the diocese, our communities have suffered deeply. Young and old. Christians and non-Christians. Catholics and non-Catholics. Farmers, teachers, catechists, traders, pupils, mothers, and fathers,” the clergy said.

“We have witnessed killings, abductions, kidnappings, disappearances, burning of homes, looting, sexual violations, extortion, and constant fear. Entire villages have lived in anxiety. Schools have closed. Farms have been abandoned. Youth have fled,” he added, referring to the two incidents in Guidaido, in Ndu Subdivision, and Mbat, in Nwa Subdivision—both in Donga Mantung.

Recently, the village of Mbat suffered an armed attack reportedly carried out by herdsmen from neighboring Nigeria. According to authorities in the Division, the incident left over 850 people affected due to the destruction of houses and livestock by the attackers.

Meanwhile, weeks earlier, the Mbororo community of Guidaido was attacked by armed men believed to be separatists agitating for the secession of Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions. The attackers killed at least 14, burnt several homes, shot cattle. and looted homes.

According to Bishop George Nkuo, these human tragedies have shattered families and disrupted dreams that had already been strained by years of armed conflict.

“What grieves us deeply is that violence risks becoming normalized. We are in danger of getting used to what should never be normal. We risk being called or labeled arrogant for asking questions and for saying that these things are happening,” he said.

Kumbo Diocese Not Battlefield or Slaughterhouse

The Bishop said violence is never normal and that the shedding of innocent blood is never acceptable.

“The humiliation of human dignity is never justified,” he said, urging Christians not to become indifferent to it.

Without mincing words, he stated that the Kumbo Diocese is neither a battlefield nor a slaughter slab where human beings are butchered, adding that it not a training ground where soldiers prepare for war.

“Our Diocese is rather the vineyard of the Lord. It is God’s dwelling among His people,” he said.

Hope in Sight

Despite the tragedies, Bishop George Nkuo believes there is still hope in sight. He has asked Christians not to give up.

“Ten years is a long time, and 10 years is a period. Many of us are tired, and many among us feel abandoned,” he said. “But we must not lose hope.”

He comforted Christians with the words of Saint Paul in Romans 8:18, which says, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed.”

He urged them to pray for peace and work for peace, and to pray for the victims of gun violence and human trafficking.