An air of sadness enveloped the Yaounde Military Headquarters in the morning of August 26, 2016 as senior officers and soldiers of different ranks from various corps of the National Defense Forces, saluted the remains of two valiant National Gendarmerie officers who were snatched by death in the month of August.

Representing the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defense, the Central Director for Coordination at the National Gendarmerie, Brigadier General Elokobi Daniel Njock, saluted the remains of Major Sumelong Ajebe Samuel who died on August 11, 2016 at the Yaounde Military Hospital following a two-month protracted illness. The deceased was the National Gendarmerie Company Commander for Koung-Khi Division in the West Region since February 17, 2016.

In a eulogy by the West Region Gendarmerie Legion Commander, Colonel Amadou Bahagobiri, the fallen officer was hailed for having played an important role in taming criminality and highway robbery in the area.

His remains left the Military Headquarters for burial the next day in Bangem in the Kupe Manenguba Division, South West Region, where he was born in 1965. Sumelong Ajebe joined the National Gendarmerie in October 1984 and ascended the ranks to become Major in 2015.

The same sad mood prevailed at the Military Headquarters as military honours were paid to the remains of 28-year-old Lieutenant Mvondo Foh Samuel Jospin by the Defence Minister’s representative and Inspector General Number One at the National Gendarmerie, Colonel Divine Ekongwese Nnoko.

The fallen officer who took ill just two months after being posted to the National Gendarmerie in the South West Region, died on August 12, 2016.

“He was disciplined, devoted and duty-conscious,” said the Second-in-Command of the National Gendarmerie Legion in the South West Region, Colonel Landry Azew in his eulogy.

Born on March 19, 1988 in the Ocean Division of the South Region, late Lt. Mvondo graduated from the Yaounde Combined Military Academy (2010-2013), earning the rank of Sub-Lieutenant on July 1, 2013 and a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant on July 1, 2015. He served in central services before he was posted to the South West Legion Command in March 2016.