AFRICA/CAMEROON - Release of an 83-year-old missionary and his assistant after 48 hours

Yaoundé (Agenzia Fides) – The kidnapping and subsequent release, within 48 hours, of an 83-year-old British missionary and his Cameroonian assistant have brought the forgotten conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon back into the international media spotlight.
Brother Huub Welters, a Missionary of the Mill Hill Missionary Society of St. Joseph (MHM), and his assistant, Henry Kang, were kidnapped on April 1 on the road from Bamenda to Ilung. As the Mill Hill Missionaries report on their website, "On Tuesday morning, April 1st, Brother Huub Welters MHM and his assistant, Mr Henry Kang, set out from Bamenda to Ilung, where they are building classrooms for underprivileged children; children who deserve a chance at a better future. But just 20 km away, in a town called Bambui, their journey was brutally interrupted. They were abducted by unknown armed men."
The two men's nightmare lasted only 48 hours, as on April 3, they were released safely and able to return to Mill Hill House in Bamenda.
"Brother Huub Welters, at his age, should be at home, resting, surrounded by the warmth of cherished memories from his decades of selfless service." write the Mill Hill Missionaries. "Instead, he chose to stay; because his heart simply wouldn’t allow him to walk away from those in need. And now, his kindness, his sacrifice, his love have been met with violence and suffering."
Bamenda is the capital of Cameroon's Northwest Province, which, along with the Southwest Province, make up the so-called Anglophone region of Cameroon. Bamenda is the scene of frequent kidnappings and murders linked to separatist violence, which erupted in 2016. Separatists often target civil servants and local officials, accusing them of collaborating with the Francophone central government.
The unrest began in 2016 after President Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades, responded with force to peaceful protests in the Anglophone regions where the population feels marginalized by the central government.
Since the conflict began, at least 6,000 civilians have been killed by government forces and separatist fighters. The separatist groups, known as the "Amba Boys," intend to form their own state, Ambazonia, whose birth was symbolically declared on October 1, 2017.
Members of the Church have also been affected by the violence. We recall, for example, the injury of Father Elvis Mbangsi, also a Mill Hill Missionary, during the attack on St. Martin of Tour's Church in Kembong, in the diocese of Mamfe, in southwestern Cameroon (see Fides, 28/9/2023) or the kidnapping of the late Cardinal Christian Tumi, Archbishop Emeritus of Douala in 2020 (see Fides, 6/11/2020). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/4/2025)

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