God was African

written by John Ngong Kum Ngong

When Kendem, a varsity instructor, returns to his native Lewoh countryside where he spent his childhood, he is seeking relief from the complexity of human civilization after attending the Fulbright Institute in the United States. Instead, he is confronted with two seething issues: how to reveal to his sick and troubled mother the situation in which he finds his elder brother, the successor of Mbe Tanju-Ngong’s household, who travelled to the United States many years before and had never returned and the dispute over Fuo Beyano’s funeral which is tearing the land apart, whether the deceased village chief, should be given a Christian burial or he should, according to the age-old tradition of Lewoh people, go through a ritual to enable him return and continue ruling his people.

John Ngong Kum Ngong

John Ngong Kum Ngong was born in Esu, Menchum Division, North West Region of Cameroon. He attended Cameroon Protestant College Bali, Bilingual Grammar School Molyko, Buea and the University of Yaoundé. He holds a Masters degree in African Literature and a Certificate in Reading in a foreign Language from the University of Birmingham, England. Winner of the 1st EduArt Bate Besong Award for Poetry in 2007 for Walls of Agony, John Ngong Kum Ngong has equally published Battle for Survival (play, 2006) and Chants of a Lunatic (poetry, 2007) all with Editions Clé. He is presently Principal of Government Bilingual High School Etoug – Ebe, Yaoundé.