Calls made for state funeral for SML Endeley

Preparations are far advanced for the funeral ceremony of Chief SML Endeley, the late Paramount Chief of the Bakweris in Buea.

The burial date has been set for Saturday, July 25. The festivities start from 10pm on Thursday, July 23 and culminate in a grand funeral service at the esplanade of the Bongo Square Ceremonial Grounds before a private burial at the Mokunda Palace.

On Thursday, Buea residents have been advised to remain indoors as from 9pm at the latest. Reason: “the dreaded ‘Nganya Dance’ shall take control of the night prior to the removal of the corpse of Chief Endeley on Friday, July 24, from mortuary of the Buea Regional Hospital.”

An announcement from the Buea Council further adds that: “the population is expected to remain indoors throughout the night leading to the corpse removal.” According to family sources, the funeral is going to gulp a whooping FCFA 10 million. To raise this amount, elites of Fako Division met in an in-camera meeting on Saturday. The meeting was chaired by Senator Peter Mafany Musonge during which FCFA 6.27 million was raised.

The Chiefs of Buea Subdivision held a meeting after that of the elites to fine-tune the traditional aspect of the funeral. The chiefs have warned that no aspect of the tradition will be waved aside, no matter what.

They have, however, joined their colleagues of the Fako Chiefs Conference to call on government to give the fallen legal colossus a state burial. They argued that Chief Endeley served the state tirelessly. They alluded to his role in seeking for lasting peace during the University protests of 1991 and his legal input in the case Cameroon against Nigeria over the Bakassi Peninsula. Funeral Programme Friday, July 24, 2015 •Removal of corpse from the Mortuary of the Buea Regional Hospital Annex •Brief stop at Presbyterian Church, Buea Town. •Laying in state at the Mokunda Palace and viewing •8pm-9pm: Christian wake service at the Mokunda Palace, Buea Town •9pm-Dawn: Cultural animation

Saturday, July 25, 2015 •7am-8am: family photographs •Departure from Mokunda Palace •9:30-10:30am: Judicial Honours at the South West Court of Appeal •Brief stop at the Buea Mountain Club •Departure to the independence square in Buea. •11am-2pm: Funeral Service at the Independence Square, Buea •3pm: Burial at the Mokunda Palace (strictly private) •Reception and departure