Fontem pays last rites to late Prof. Asonganyi

Late Prof. Tazaocha Asonganyi was last weekend laid to rest in his native Menji in Lebialem division.

The revered social critic and erstwhile Secretary General of the Social Democratic Front, who died in Yaounde on Sunday July 3, after battling with a cancer infection, was buried on Saturday July 23.

A crowd of tearful mourners had earlier turned out at the Yaounde General Hospital Mortuary on Friday July 22 during the corpse removal. Last respects were paid to the imminent professor there before his corpse was transferred to the Amphi 700 of the University of Yaounde for academic honours.

At the university campus, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Science described the fallen patriot as “a great scientist whose ideas went beyond the domain of Biochemistry, his domain of specialty.”

University dons paid tribute to their fallen colleague and regretted that the “fine brain” had departed from their midst.

From the university campus to St. Joseph Catholic Church Mvog Ada and to the deceased’s residence at Essos, the high turnout of mourners and expression of sorrow was overwhelming.

The traditional rites leading to, and after Asonganyi’s burial in Yaounde and Fontem were presided at by the paramount ruler of the Bangwas, Fon Fontem Asabatong.

We noted that media coverage of Asonganyi’s funeral by the state broadcaster, CRTV, was shallow, when compared to a music icon whose funeral coincided with that of Asonganyi over the weekend.

It should be noted that Prof. Asonganyi died when all was almost complete for him to be evacuated abroad for medical attention.

A father of four – two boys and two girls, Asonganyi hailed from Lebialem Division in the South West. He obtained a PhD in Biochemistry in 1980 from the University of London and for the past 30 years of his life, lectured and trained medical doctors at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (formerly CUSS) of the University of Yaounde I.

SDF Chairman, John Fru Ndi led a delegation of his party to the burial of Asonganyi in Fontem.