The Attorney General at the Centre Court of Appeal Jean Fils Ntamak, has revealed that the late Bishop of Bafia Diocese His Lordship Jean Marie Benoit Bala, was not killed contrary to the claims of Catholic Bishops.
In a release made public on Tuesday July 4, 2017, he stated that after thorough investigations carried out on the body of the Bishop, it was concluded that the man of God probably drowned in river Sanaga.
According to the Attorney General, medical and forensic experts sent by Interpol after working on the body concluded that there was no violence of any form on the body of the prelate, hence the body has been handed over to authorities of the Catholic Church for burial while investigations will continue.
Read press release below.
This new information completely contradicts that of Bishops in Cameroon who on June 14, 2017 declared that Bishop Bala was, “Brutally assassinated.”
It also rubbishes popular opinion held by many that the Man of God was tortured on May 30, 2017 for several hours, before being dumped in the Sanaga River.
Bishop Jean Marie Balla was declared missing on Tuesday 30 May, 2017, but his land cruiser jeep with registration plate number CE 9503V was found on the Ebebda bridge on Wednesday afternoon about 90km from Yaounde, with a note in the car, his ID card, driving license and car documents.
The handwritten note on the letter head of the diocese simply read “Je suis dans l’eau”, loosely translated into English as “I am in the water”.
The note found in the bishop’s car suggested he jumped into the river” and committed suicide by drowning, as no damage was done to his car which could indicate there was violence.