National tribute to Patrick Claude Ekeng Ekeng organized by the government has been mired by misunderstanding leaving most fans and mourners confused.

Fans, friends and journalists gathered at the Ministry of Sports and left with in a delegation to the Yaounde Nismalen Airport to receive the player who died in the field of play on May 6 during the Romanian Championship game.

Gathered in the Airport hall fans and friends waited, the flight had delayed, initially to arrive at 7:45 pm Air France touched down at 8:10.

All attempts by cameramen and photographers to catch the image of the touchdown and coffin removed from the plane in vain, only the National Television was allowed access.

Airport security said they waited for the officials in-charge to contact them for the necessary arrangements and no one did, so there was no authorization to pass through the hall where fans were waiting and for cameramen and photographers to access the tarmac.

Some staff of the Ministry of Sports, however, said a fax was sent and a letter was taken to the airport well ahead of time.

When all the formalities were done and the delegation ready to leave the airport, there was a scene between Ekeng’s mother and the mother-in-law. The two women were in one car when Ekeng’s mother said she could not sit with someone who is not from her family and the mother-in-law left slamming the door of the car.

The corpse was brought to the Warda Multipurpose Sports Complex and placed in the centre ready for a joint mass with a pastor, priest and imam.

Everybody waited for the ceremony to start then after some time, Ekeng’s Mother and the wife were called out, but along the line, the wife sat back and only the mother went out.

After an hour, the wife went out and later came back and during this time the mother moved from one of the rooms to another with the federation officials.

Among the pressmen information started circulating of alleged problems between Ekeng’s mother and the daughter in law with the mother claiming the right to manage everything, the money in short.

At mid-night with negations still behind closed doors, the religious leaders to celebrate a joint mass left as nobody said anything to them.

It was at 1:17 am that the family pastor said a mass when most of the fans, friends and well-wishers had left.