The late Hon. Celestine Rachel Lyonga, MP for Fako East Constituency, who died last August 11, was, on Friday, July 25, posthumously decorated with the 'Commander of the National Order of Merit medal'. Acting on behalf of the Head of State, Fako SDO, Zang III, performed the brief medal award ceremony in the conference room of his Limbe office.

“This medal has been awarded by the Head of State in recognition of the dedicated services the late Hon Rachel Lyonga rendered to the nation,” Zang said. The SDO, however, noted that the medal should have been awarded during the Late Honourable’s funeral, but owing to the fact that the award decision had to be taken by the Head of State, coupled with a delay in the administrative procedures, the medal could not be awarded when it was due.

The medal was received, on behalf of the late MP, by her husband, Robert Captain Lyonga who asked the SDO to extend his gratitude to the Head of State on behalf of his late wife. Talking about the kind of dedicated services the late MP rendered to the nation, the SDO, who had worked for a while in Limbe before the passing of the Honourable, said he recalled that, “ Hon Rachel Lyonga was very close to the people and that is why she was called Mami Buyam Sellam,” Zang said.

“She was so fond of her people to the point that even when one went to her house while she was sleeping, she will not hesitate to wake up and attend to you. So I deeply appreciated the way she worked with her people,” added Zang. The occasion was attended by the present MP for Fako East, Hon Gladys Etombi and other personalities in Limbe.