Here are Major Generals in Cameroon, Bamkoui’s dream gone
Here are Major Generals in Cameroon, Bamkoui’s dream gone
If we had to stick to the epistle to journalists of the Minister of Communication, predecessor of Issa Tchiroma Bakary, former Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Jean-Pierre Biyiti bi Essam, author of the book “Bruits deboots” after the failed coup d’etat of April 6, 1984, we wouldn’t talk about the army at all. Especially not vitriolic.
But, the news imposing this subject on public opinion, why not celebrate the Pandoras, the Sailors and the Infantrymen in this circumstance of war – in the process of being won – against the nebulous Boko Haram. She, who has already pledged allegiance to the Islamic State Daesh, branch of West Africa.
And why not roll out the red carpet for them after the decrees of August 13, 2015. Which decrees raised five of the senior officers to the very prestigious rank of General? In particular to the youngest of the troops, Jacob Kodji.
Land Force :Pierre Semengue , The living legend
Born in Bikoka in the Lolodorf district, Ocean department, South region, General of the Army – the highest rank in Cameroon -Pierre Semengue has accumulated 59 years of service to date, since he was incorporated in October 1956. He left the very prestigious military school of Saint-Cyr in France in 1959 and became the first Cameroonian General on July 1, 1973. He passed same Major General in 1982, while remaining the only general officer. It would be necessary to wait until 1983 for the current Head of State to raise three colonels to the rank of General. The current president of the professional football league is considered by history as this officer who subdued the maquis during the hot post-independence years. He was admitted to the second section on March 11, 2001.
James Tataw Tabe: The Dean, the Queen and Nigeria
Tataw Tabe James is trained at the Military officers national school Alderhot in England. He graduated as a second lieutenant and joined the British army in 1960. For a year, he was platoon leader in the 9th regiment of Queen Elizabeth II of England and an instructor at the Kaduna military academy in Nigeria. Returned to Cameroon in 1961, he commanded the training center of the national armed forces (Cifan) before leaving for the Paris war school in 1973. Another internship took him to the institute for advanced studies in defence, still in Paris in 1980. On July 1, 1983, he was appointed brigadier general. On March 11, 2011, he was admitted to the second section at the rank of Major General. The General of Division is the oldest soldier still “on duty” in Cameroon.
Jean Nganso Sunji: The Enigmatic Polytechnician
Engineering, the General of the Army Corps did just that throughout his career as an active soldier. He enlisted on October 1, 1956, the same day as GeneralPierre Semenge . With the only difference that it is ten years later that he will carry stars on his shoulders, after “his class”. An engineer from the Ecole polytechnique de Paris in 1960, he was also a civil engineer in bridges and roads in the same city in 1962 before joining the engineering application school in Angers, France during the same period. He was admitted to the second section on March 11, 2011.
Benoît Asso’o Emane: Le Légionnaire
The most unhealthy comments present him as a “backpack general” as if to say that he started out as a private (like, when he was very ill, his death even made the rounds of the country). That no, when we know the course of the Cameroonian officers. The native of Essong in the district of Djoum, in the South region comes from the Interarms Military School of Cameroon (Emia), Independence promotion in 1960-1961 like Oumaroudjam Yaya. His passage at the head of the Headquarters or in the city of Bertoua in the mid-1990s marked the spirits. The General of Division is still active.
René Claude Meka: The Boss
When the Republican Guard orchestrated an attempted putsch on April 6, 1984, René Claude Meka was the director of presidential security (Dsp). When a fire broke out in one of the bunkers of the headquarters powder magazine on February 18, 2001, RC Meka was the commander of the first military region, which covered the headquarters. Time has passed and the native of Ebolowa is still standing, straight on his boots. Promoted to the rank of General of the Army Corps on March 11, 2011, he was also appointed Chief of the Defense Staff. In other words, he is the Boss of the Cameroonian army, replacing the living legendPierre Semenge .
Philippe Mpay: The trainer from Saint-Cyr
What we know about the commander of schools and joint training centers in Cameroon is that he is full of military diplomas. Graduated from the Saint-Cyr special military school in France a year after General Semengue, he also went through the infantry application school in Saint-Maixent between 1962 and 1963 then the school captains course d’application in Montpellier as well as the Ecole Supérieure de Guerre in Paris from 1973 to 1975. The General of Division was deputy to the military attaché near the Cameroonian embassy in France and Commander of the 6th military region in Bamenda , between April 6 and September 25, 2001.
Jean René Youumba: The Engineer of California
The current army inspector can be considered the oldest soldier still active in Cameroon. The Major General began his career on September 16, 1958. The native of Pouma in the maritime Sanaga is an engineer in Public Works and Buildings from the Ecole Supérieure de Versailles in France. He went to the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr in France (1958), at the same time as GeneralPierre Semenge . He is also a graduate in Civil-Military Relations from the Naval University of Monterey in California, USA.
Pierre Samobo: The special recruit
According to the young Africa Economy newspaper, the General of Division is engaged in the Cameroonian army on July 11, 1960. It is in Algeria, at the military school of infantry that it forms. He undertook an internship at the Emia in 1964, before going to the school of captains of Montpellier in France in 1967. Other training sanctioned by parchments will follow for this general officer who was appointed Brigadier General in 1993. He has served as commander of the 4th military region in Garoua for one month (August 5- September 25, 2001). This national of the Western region is Major General at the General Staff of the armies.
Camille Nkoa Atenga: The Writer of Okola
“The child of silent revolt”. It is through this novel that ordinary Cameroonians discover Major General Camille Nkoa Atenga. People close to the barracks already knew him as commander of the very prestigious inter-army military school (Emia) from 1986 to 1993. As a reminder, the first Cameroonian to head this school was retired Colonel Edouard Etondè Ekotto and the current is Colonel Antoine Mesmin Kisito Bengono (since 2015). Entered the same school on October 1, 1961 under the baptismal name “Reunification”. From April to September 2001, he was commander of the 2nd military region in Douala. He is now Comptroller General of the Armies.
Hector Marie Tchemo: War and Humanitarianism
Like Professors Augustin Kontchou Kouemegni, Luc Sindjoun or Maurice Kamto, the commander of the 1st military region is from Baham in the Western region. This other Saint-Cyrian, promotion 64 “Corsica and Provence” holds several military diplomas including that of the Paris War School, French section, 103rd promotion in 1991. The expert in international humanitarian law, and expert of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee for Security Questions in Central Africa was commander of Operation Delta in Bakassi from January to October 2001. He was promoted to the rank of Major General on March 11, 2011.
Baba Souley: Fire to gunshots
Fifteen years spent at the head of the fire brigade (1997 – 2011), it sticks to the skin to the point where, even some soldiers forget that the General of Division is, since March 11, 2011, the Head of State Major of the Army. A strategic position occupied by the boss of the army, General of the Army René Claude Meka. Major General Baba Souley, born on December 31 in Yaoundé, was incorporated into the Cameroonian armed forces on February 21, 1966. A trip to the Montpellier Infantry Military School in France then to the Emia of Yaoundé, promotion 66 -68, Baba Souley is part of the 2001 wave of generals appointed to Cameroon.
Isaiah Ngambou: The Major of Foumban
The subject of King Bamoun in the Western region, Esaïe Ngambou, promoted to the rank of Major General on March 11, 2011, is the Commander of the Yaoundé Joint Defense Higher Course. First among his peers, Esaïe Ngambo was top of his “Renouveau” class (1968-1971) at Emia in Yaoundé. Among the multitude of diplomas he obtained during his various trainings, one can choose to cite that of aerial observer in 1978, that of artillery captain in France in 1982 or that of the Ecole Supérieure de Guerre Inter Paris.
Mohamadou Saly: The aide-de-campAhmadou Ahidjo
When General of Division leads the troops during a parade on May 20 in Yaoundé, one has the chance to approach him and see that he is a tailor-made soldier. Some colleagues even speak of an army dummy. The native of Dembo in the district of Garoua, some said at the time, does not look his age as he seems very young. Commander of the 3rd joint region, he was part of the “10th anniversary” promotion of the Emia (1967-1970). For eight years, he was aide-de-camp to the president.Ahmadou Ahidjo (1973-1981). Ten years after being raised to the rank of Brigadier General, the soldier was promoted (2011) to Major General.
Ahmed Mahamat: From parachute to flames
Since March 11, 2011, the commander of the National Fire Brigade was born in Fort-Lamy, the former name of the Chadian capital. From 1974 to 1977, he was a cadet at Emia as part of the 10th class. When he leaves, he will spend four years in the battalion of airborne troops in Koutaba. In 2003, he graduated from the Chinese War School like a certain Joseph Kabila Kabangué, Head of State of the DRC. He held several positions of responsibility, the penultimate of which, before landing in the flames, was that of commander of land military sector No. 7 in Ebolowa (2007-2009).
Hyppolite Ebaka: The trainer of Ngaoundal
Brigadier General entered the national consciousness when he led the troops during the parade of the fiftieth anniversary of the armies in Bamenda in December 2010. He had then just been promoted to Brigadier General. Consecration of this product of the 10th promotion of the Emia, like its “class”, Ahmed Mahamat. This native of Bibey in Haute-Sanaga, but originally from Grand Mbam, has marked his career above all by his time as commander of the Bbr (armored reconnaissance battalion) in Douala or commander of the development and training center in Ngaoundal. He too was commander of Operation Delta. He graduated from the senior staff course of the Command and General College of Kansas in the USA in 1994.
Martin Tumenta Chomu: Paratrooper to pacify the RCA
Like his two predecessors, the Brigadier General of the Army comes from the 10th promotion of the Emia. Then, only titles! First commander of the Koutaba parachute company in 1995; commander of the Ngaoundal armed forces development and training center like his Ebaka “class”, commander of Operation Delta in Bakassi, he was director of human resources in 2010. In July 2014, he was appointed Force Commander of the Minusca in order to lead the troops of the sub-region to bring peace to the Central African Republic torn by an incipient civil war.
Valère Nka: The most Nigerian of Cameroonians
He is the eldest among his peers appointed on August 13, 2015. And yet, he joined the Emia after the other four generals, in January 1985. On his appointment, he was defense attaché to the Cameroon High Commission in Nigeria , since 2010. This native of Mekimobodo in the Lékié department, Center region was therefore certainly in pole position to be appointed as deputy to the commander of the Multinational Joint Force (MMF) of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, whose mission is to stop the abuses of Boko Haram. He is from the Martin Paul Samba promotion at the Emia.
Bouba Dobékréo: The Giant General of Bir
In intellectual circles, he would have been called gifted. So much his journey would give shivers to the first adventurer who would dare to endanger peace in a country. Its size, 2 meters, according to our colleagues from the Crtv, gives chills and admiration. He comes from the 83-86 “Rudolph Duala Manga Bell” promotion of the Emia, like two other of his comrades who were also appointed generals. He is the coordinator of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (Bir), which he joined in 2004. He has also commanded several operations such as Operation Alpha in the Far North, his region of origin or Operation Delta in Bakassi . This native of Dschang is almost on familiar ground.
Simon Ezo’o Mvondo: The Voice of the South
Like two other of his classmates at Emia, the new General comes from the 83-86 “Rudolph Duala Manga Bell” promotion. We especially remember the commander of the 11th Motorized Infantry Brigade based in Ebolowa that he was several times assigned to command the troops in Bakassi within the framework of Operation Delta. A graduate of the Military School of Saumur in France as a cavalry officer, he also holds a diploma from the German General Staff and War School.
Fréderic Ndjonkep Mehomy: The Shining Star of Garoua
It was when the war against Boko Haram was in full swing and with his appointment to Garoua to act as interim head of the 3rd military region in Garoua in place of Brigadier General Hyppolite Ebaka that we discovered the Colonel Fréderic Ndjonkep Mehomy in social networks, some subscribers of which were already praising his prowess. And his appointment comes as a consecration of the mission accomplished. The same subscribers, who surreptitiously displayed identity folds, had forgotten one thing: Fréderic Ndjonkep is a native of Garoua. Moreover, he spent his entire childhood there until he obtained his Baccalaureate. He returned to the Emia under the banner of “November 6, 1982”.
Jacob Kodji: The Benjamin Among His Peers
He was already the interim commander of the 4th military region in Maroua, before being confirmed following his appointment as Brigadier General on August 13, cumulatively with his duties as commander of Opération Emergence. The product of promotion 83 of the Emia is naturally linked to the area in which he succeeded in repelling, with his “class”, Colonel Joseph Nouma the invasion of the terrorists of Boko Haram. Jacob Kodji is a native of Mogodé in Mayo-Tsanaga, a border town with Nigeria. Elected from a multitude of colonels in the region, he is the youngest of all Cameroonian Generals (see table).
Air Force: Jean Calvin Momha, Air Commander
The Air Brigadier General, Chief of Staff of the Air Force began his career in France. In 1975, he entered the Ecole de l’Air in Salon-de-Provence. In 1979, he obtained the 2nd degree pilot’s license. In 1991, he graduated in Air at Montgomery University in the USA. From 1979 to 2001, for 22 years he was commander of the transport squadron, commander of the operational resources group and commander of the Douala Air Base. He is a native of Ngambè, in the maritime Sanaga, like many great Cameroonian sportsmen.
Emmanuel Amougou: The Prc Special Staff
The man who acted as interim head of the President of the Republic’s private staff until his appointment had the honor of being promoted, alone to the rank of Air Brigadier General in 2013, like General Pierre Semengué 40 years earlier. He is a captain and pilot instructor on Buffalo, C 130 and Gulfstream III (G III) aircraft. He is also a transport pilot, from the Special Course of the Air School of Salon-de-Provence in France, class of 1975 “Captain Didier Duthoit”. Major Africa Caribbean Pacific on entering this School which had six Cameroonians, his promotion still active, Air Brigadier General Jean Calvin Momha, current Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He has approximately 5,000 flight hours.
National Navy: Guillaume Ngouah Ngally, The Marine Gendarme
Like General Semengue, Vice-Admiral Ngouah Ngally is from the district of Lolodorf in the South. Hired as an active cadet at the Emia on September 1, 1961, he trained between 1968 and 1969 at the French Navy officers’ school. The gunnery officer is also a graduate of the Gendarmerie School of Melun and the Superior War School, all in France. Versatile, the current inspector of the armies knows two changes of body in his career, moving from the Navy to the gendarmerie then, a return to the Navy of which he was the chief of staff for several years. He was the 1st commander of Operation Delta in Bakassi, from January 4, 1994 to May 15, 1995.
Jean Mendoua: Le patron des eaux
The native of Ebolowa in the South on December 23 spent 27 years (1984-2011) in the Presidential Guard, climbing all the stages to the post of commander which he held for 10 years (2001-2011), before being appointed Rear Admiral and Chief of Naval Staff, replacing Guillaume Ngouah Ngally. It was in 1979 that he became an Officer of the French Navy. In 1992: Commander of the Presidential Guard Training Center in Minkama (Obala). In 1996: Chief of Staff of the Presidential Guard. In 1999: Second in command of the Presidential Guard.
Joseph Fouda: The shadow of Paul Biya
1993-2011: Rear Admiral Joseph Fouda, “the man in white” spent nearly two decades, 18 years precisely, behind the figure of the Cameroonian head of state, in his capacity as aide-de-camp. Moreover, he is not so far from it. Since he is appointed, after having been raised to the rank of general officer, Special Adviser to the President of the Republic. One of the three that counts the Head of State. The others being Professors Luc Sindjoun and Narcisse Mouelle Kombi. Not much about this reputedly very discreet man. Except that he studied at the special military school of Saint-Cyr in France.
Pierre Njiné Djonkam: Like a fish in water
The central director for monitoring the maintenance of major defense force equipment at the Ministry of Defense would be a very unobtrusive man, according to testimony. Pierre Njiné Djonkam, holder of a Master’s degree in mathematics, is a shipbuilding engineer trained in French schools.
Jean-Pierre Nsola: An early retirement
November 1, 2011. It’s only been 8 and a half months since the captain was elevated to the rank of Rear Admiral, at only 60 years old, he was admitted, by a decree of the Head of State, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, in the 2nd Section, considered as the retirement box for the General officers. The native of Sangmelima had been appointed to the post of controller of the armies, this March 11, 2011. He was, before his double appointment, defense attaché at the Cameroonian embassy in China. It was in 1972 that Nsola Jean-Pierre was recruited as a graduate of higher education. He graduated from the French Naval Academy in 1974, then from the Coastal Escort Commander course of the Naval Academy No. 1 of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy in 1976. , he was air and sea military attaché at the Cameroon embassy in Nigeria from 2002 to 2006. After Nigeria, he was appointed to China until March 11, 2011, when he became rear admiral. It remains at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense where it can be requested at any time.
National Gendarmerie: Oumaroudjam Yaya, Chief Constable
This man, at the height of his 76 years, seems to have never gained a kilogram throughout his career as an almost discreet active soldier. More visible in the native of Ndiambadi in the Bénoué, northern region, his brilliant career which began on October 16, 1957 before his entry into the Emia – Independence promotion in 1960-1961 – until his appointment on July 1, 1983 as first General of the National Gendarmerie. In his silence, an abundant literary production. We can cite among others “Public order, main mission of the gendarmerie” published by Karthala in 1998. On March 11, 2011, he was admitted to the second section. But, remains the oldest Gendarme at the highest rank. He is an Army Corps General.
Laurent Claude Angouand: General of the Rising Sun
The native of Makok, near Atok in the Haut-Nyong, Eastern region is the highest-ranking active duty policeman. He joined the Emia in 1960 and also studied at the National Gendarmerie of Melun in France. General of Division, he has been the central director of administration and logistics since 2001. Long before that, he was commander of the schools and training centers of the Gendarmerie.
Isidore Claude Obama: The Constable of Washington DC
Since his appointment to the rank of Major General, the native of Ekoko by Mfou in the Center region is also commander of the 2nd Gendarmerie region. But, it was on September 25, 2001 that he tasted the delights of General of the Cameroonian army. And yet, it was on December 26, 1959 that he was incorporated into the Cameroonian armed forces. He spent two years at Emia (1960 – 1961). Like his peers, he follows several advanced training courses in France. From 1985 to 1993, he served as military, naval and air attaché at the Cameroon Embassy in Washington DC. Between 1998 and 2001, General Obama was director of budget and equipment at the Ministry of Defense.
Ivo Desancio Yenwo: Close Protection
Who would not dream of ensuring the security of the President of the Republic? Constable Ivo Desancio Yenwo has been fulfilling this mission for several years now, as director of presidential security. In the neighborhood, we will simply say the “boss of the president’s bodyguards”. The one who replaces the divisional commissioner Pierre Minlo Medjo has an admirable career. He entered the Emia on January 10, 1966, and graduated from the Gendarmerie Officers School in Melun, France. On July 1, 1999, he was promoted to colonel. A tour in Ebolowa as commander of the Gendarmerie Legion of the South then, the General of Division, native of the North-West is called to the presidency of the Republic. He is also admired in civilian circles for the musicality of his name, which would sound Latin: Desancio.
Simon Pierre Dagafounangsou: The Pouss of Manyo-Danaï
Since March 11, 2011, the cadet incorporated into the Emia on October 1, 1961 has been promoted to the rank of General of Division. Cameroonian viewers know him very well for his commitment to road safety, since he regularly descends on the accident-prone axes of Cameroon. This, as commander of the 1st Gendarmerie region. The native of Pouss in the Far North region has followed several specialized training courses, like his peers. Is it also necessary to specify that he holds a patent of higher studies of military administration.
Zacharie Doualla Massango: The Dean of the Pandoras
The Brigadier General, former Commander of the 2nd Littoral Gendarmerie Legion in Douala during the food riots, which set Cameroon ablaze from February 25 to 28 and of which Douala was an epicenter, was “put for employment with the secretary of ‘State of Defense in charge of the National Gendarmerie’ by a decree of the Head of State, Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces on March 7, 2008. Informed observers estimate that the former boss of the operational command, who had been replaced by Colonel Jean Calvin Leumani, who until then commanded the 3rd region of gendarmerie in Garoua, finding himself without a function, is in a kind of “garage”. He is nevertheless the dean of all active Pandoras.
Elokobi Daniel Njock: The last born of the Gendarmes
No gendarme being in the wave of appointments of army generals of August 13th. Elokobi Daniel Njock is therefore the last gendarme to be brought to this rank, moreover the only one in the wave of March 11, 2011. Brigadier General, central director of coordination is part of the 1976-1979 promotion of the Emia . Obviously the only one of his promotion to sit in the Holy of Holies. A graduate in criminology from the University of Virginia in the USA, he attended the Paris War School from 1999 to 2000. He was commander of the Eastern Gendarmerie Legion in Bertoua between 2004 and 2009. AT
glossary :
Army
AA: Air Force
MN: Navy
GN: National Gendarmerie
GB: Brigadier General
GD: Major General
CA: Rear-Admiral
VA: Vice-Admiral
GCA: Lieutenant General
GA: Army General
Statistics
Army: 21
Air Force: 2
Navy: 5
National Gendarmerie: 7
Admitted to 2nd section: 5
Deceased
– Abdoulaye Oumarou Garoua (AT)
– Blaise Benae Mpecke (AT)
– Gabriel Taka Songola (AT)
– Roland Mambou Deffo (GN)
– Mohamadou Hamadiko (GN)
– Paul Yakana Guebama (AA)
