“It is with a heart full of sorrow that on behalf of Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius Abangalo Fondong, the Bishop of Mamfe, I make this announcement to you that he has been found dead,” Fr. Julius Agbortoko, Acting Vicar General of the Cameroonian Diocese, says in a statement issued Saturday, August 2.
Fr. Carol had gone missing on July 31 while crossing a river during a pastoral trek. His disappearance prompted a coordinated search and rescue mission, supported by Clergy, family members, and the PArishioners of St. Mathias Quasi Parish.
In the statement, Fr. Agbortoko expresses appreciation “for [the] ceaseless prayers and support during the period of the search and rescue mission.”
He also extends gratitude to the Priests, family members, and Christian community of Tabongkwa “for their endless courage.”
A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, August 3, at 9:00 a.m. in St. Joseph Cathedral, Mamfe.
“Let us commend the soul of our Priest, Rev. Fr. Carol Tchinda Nguito, to the Lord, that He may grant him a share of eternal life in His bosom,” the Acting Vicar General says and implores, “May Mary, Mother of Priests and Help of Christians, intercede for him.”
St. Matthias Quasi Parish, Tabongkwa-Mbetta which is under the pastoral care of Fr. Carol serves rural communities in Cameroon’s South-West region which have been ravaged by violence for close to a decade.
Cameroon’s English-speaking North-West and South-West regions plunged into conflict in 2016 after a protest by lawyers and teachers turned violent. An armed movement of separatists claiming independence for the so-called republic of Ambazonia emerged following the government’s crackdown on protesters.