‘We are one’: Church appeals for unity in Cameroon beset by division

A bishop in the English-speaking North West region where separatists are fighting an insurgent campaign suggested that the crisis was being perpetuated by those profiting from it.

Bishops in Cameroon appealed for an end to separatist violence and an end to political and ethnic divisions that threaten the country.

Archbishop Jean Mbarga of Yaoundé expressed hope that “the socio-political life of the nation could be a source of hope for all” in a message for Cameroon National Day on 20 May.

In their own messages, Bishop Joseph-Marie Ndi Okalla of Mbalmayo said “it is good for brothers to live together” while Bishop Jean Bosco Ntep of Edea observed that “we [Cameroonians] are one”.

The National Day commemorates the country’s transition from a federal to unitary state. The 2026 edition was celebrated under the theme: “National Unity: Backbone of our Defence System, bedrock of Cameroon’s Development”.

Political observers fear that widening fissures between would-be successors to President Paul Biya – the 93-year-old who has been in power for 44 years – could lead to turmoil were he no longer able to lead the country.

A bishop in the English-speaking North West region where separatists have fought a years-long insurgent campaign suggested that the crisis was being perpetuated by those profiting from it.

Bishop John Berinyuy Tata, an auxiliary in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, was kidnapped by separatists last year and held for 14 days. 

He told the online outlet Crux that he feared the crisis remained unresolved “because people are gaining from this crisis from all angles. It has become something that people use to make money. The stakeholders who are making money from it will not want it to end.”

Pope Leo appointed Berinyuy a bishop on 13 February this year. He had been abducted on 15 November and released on 2 December. He described how he coped with his captors’ uncertain treatment of him.

“The main guard insisted I take a bath after 10 days because, as he said, ‘We can stay three months without bathing, but we know you have to bathe,’” Berinyuy said.

“I read Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, which says you have the choice to decide how you react to what happens to you. I was prepared for anything – to come out alive or dead. I wasn’t worried,” he continued.

“When we sat in an abandoned primary school in the bush, while they smoked marijuana, I read my books and prayed my rosary. That was my strength.”

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