How Konyui Henry reunited with family 18 years after he ‘disappeared’

The story of Konyui Henry, a 40-year-old man who recently ‘escaped’ from a decades-long ‘hostage marriage’ in Yaounde, unfolds like a compelling novel.

Henry, who adopted a new name Ekoge in Yaounde, recently reunited with his family in Nkar, Nso, in Cameroon’s North West Region, 18 years after they had already celebrated his death.

Life took an unexpected turn for him years ago, leading him on a path of challenges, isolation, and forced marriage.

Konyui Henry, now in his forties, found himself navigating life’s difficulties after the passing of his parents, leaving him responsible for a family of nine.

Hailing from Nkar in Nso, he transitioned into a herdsman in Mbiame, still within the Bui Division.

Fate eventually took him to Yaounde, where he lost contact with his family roughly 18 years ago.

In Yaounde, Henry worked at a bakery in Obala and concurrently ran a small bread business in Edoutou, a village on the outskirts of the city.

Little did he know that this seemingly ordinary journey would transform into a complex tale involving an alleged encounter with an old woman who, according to her brother, used charms on him.

Trapped in Edoutou, Henry married the woman and had four children, albeit losing two along the way.

The twist in this story lies in the fact that Konyui Henry adopted a new identity as Ekonge, aligning himself with the Ewondo community in the Center Region of Cameroon.

The entanglement deepened as Henry, now Ekonge, immersed himself in his duties within the woman’s family compound, performing tasks such as washing clothes, splitting wood, fetching water, and caring for their children.

Living under deplorable conditions, he gradually lost touch with his mother tongue, Lamnso, and became proficient in French and Ewondo.

Recent events took an unexpected turn when Nombu Walters, also from Nso and a trader in Edoutou, learned of Ekonge’s presence.

Walters, informed of Ekonge’s English-speaking background, connected with him, uncovering the dire conditions he lived in and his forgotten roots.

One day, Walters went there and was looking for Henry, but he had gone to the farm.

So he met his wife’s brother, who pleaded with him to help Henry find his roots. The man explained the deplorable conditions under which Henry was living.

That was how Walters went to the compound, discovered the situation for himself, and decided to help Henry out. He got the information and channelled it to Mimi Mefo Info (MMI).

A report that MMI did on Henry Konyuy raised awareness of his whereabouts and triggered an immediate reaction from his family and kinsmen back home in Nkar.

VILLAGE ASSOCIATION STEPS IN

The Nkar Village Development Association (NKADECA) swiftly intervened when MMI first reported about Konyui Henry’s predicament.

The association deployed a search team and raised funds after everyone in the village initially assumed Henry had perished.

In the Nkar, Henry’s burial had already been celebrated, and he was forgotten.

The President of the Yaounde branch of NKADECA, Wirngo Emmanuel, travelled to Edoutou, where he gathered the villagers and explained his mission before initiating Henry’s rescue.

FAMILY REUNION AFTER 20 YEARS

When Henry’s older sister heard that he had been found, she immediately travelled to Yaoundé to see things for herself, knowing that he was lost forever.

Tears of joy were inevitable when the two siblings embraced each other.

Henry was taken to Nkar, where traditional rites were performed at the Nkar palace, and subsequently in Tatum, his mother’s village.

Sadly, the elation was tinged with sorrow as Henry’s brother, Banadzem, who had disappeared alongside him, passed away two days later, on the same day Henry was found.

The family, having long searched for both brothers, had given up hope until Henry’s unexpected discovery.

Now, Konyui Henry, eager to reconnect with his roots, seeks to rebuild his identity and return to Edoutou, where he once worked the cocoa fields on his hectares of land.

NKADECA is actively involved, ensuring that Henry does not disappear again.

Mimi Mefo Info