After St Laurent de Tigaza, the windows of the English-speaking parish of Holy Ghost were smashed and the box of the Caritas group robbed by thugs still in the cabal.
The parishes of the Catholic Church in Bertoua are increasingly the target of thugs. The latest victim is the Anglophone Holy Ghost parish.
« During the mass of December 24, 2018, the motorcycle of a faithful was taken into the fence. The next day, on the night of December 25, the bandits broke down the windows and broke into the church. They broke the cash register of the Caritas group located at the entrance to the sacristy », relates Ivo Fonkem, the catechist of Holy Ghost.
The servant of God explains that it is in this box that the money from the sale of the candles is generally kept. He also specifies that this is the second time that the sacristy has been visited by thugs.
According to the testimonies of the faithful of this parish, “ Sunday, December 23, 2018, a special collection in favor of displaced persons from the English-speaking crisis residing in Bertoua was organized ". Obviously, the bandits informed of this fundraiser thought that this money was kept in the box of Caritas, a group specialized in the assistance of vulnerable people. A complaint has been filed with the judicial police.
Before the English-speaking Holy Ghost parish, that of St Laurent de Tigaza had been the victim of the acts of an armed criminal gang in January 2018. According to the story of Father Jacques Cyril Tsoungui, vicar of this parish, these outlaws " smashed the doors of the sacristy with fairly precise equipment [hammers and nail pullers] to carry away the sound equipment valued at more than 2.000.000 CFA francs and the monstrance for the exhibition of the Blessed Sacrament made of solid gold and which costs about 1.000.000 FCFA ».
In addition to this material, according to the vicar, many other as yet unassessed losses were recorded. According to the man of God, the discovery had been made by the sacristan of the parish. A complaint had been lodged with the Mobile Intervention Group (Gmi) No. 5. Moreover, in this specific case and in a kind of warning to these criminals, the lay people of the said parish had specified in a document that " God gives strength to priests to do what you have never seen. This theft is serious since the only sacrament of adoration has disappeared ».
