Mgr Andrew Nkea named Archbishop of Bamenda

The diocese of Bamenda now has a new archbishop in the person of Andrew Nkea.

He was appointed Monday by Pope Francis.

The former Bishop of the Mamfe diocese in Cameroon’s South West region was appointed by the Pope after the retirement of now Emeritus archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua.

Coming shortly after bishop Michael Bibi was named Apostolic administrator of the Buea Diocese, Andrew Nkea in his previous diocese had already been facing the security challenges posed by the Anglophone Crisis.

Weeks back, he went as far as closing some parishes in the Mamfe diocese due to threats and attacks on priests in the area.

In a pastoral later on insecurity in the diocese, he had threatened to excommunicate the ‘young boys’ responsible for acts of terror and kidnapping.
“We all joined to decry the brutality of the military against the people but now it is our own children who have turned against their own people and they think it is normal?” he asked.

The vocal priest who has been quite outspoken on the Anglophone crisis in December 2017 spent time in Nigeria’s Cross River state with thousands of Cameroon refugees.

With his coming to the Bamenda diocese of the Catholic church, he is expected to face a similar set of challenges.

Shortly after the appointment, many priests, Christians of the diocese and beyond have taken to social media to congratulate the clergyman.