President Biya honours Chu Bernard Kum

President Paul Biya on April 1, 2015, signed a decree promoting Chu Bernard Kum to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police. He was subsequently presented to the media at the Police Headquarters in Yaounde in his new rank on Monday, April 6, 2015 by the authorities.

The exceptional decision by the President was backdated to June 10, 2014, when the then ‘Officier de police de 3e grade’ (or Superintendent of Police), had his left arm chopped off with a machete by a marauding Central African Republic refugee in Bertoua, capital of the East Region.

Chu Bernard Kum, Commissioner of the Bertoua Third District Police Station, was on his way to work when he stumbled on the scene of a refugee and another man in a bloody tussle. The marauding refugee was just about to finish off his victim with a machete when the Commissioner stepped in to save the life of the helpless man already writhing in a pool of blood.

Unknown to Chu Bernard, the assailant withdrew into a nearby bush only to resurface, determined this time around to finish off with the Commissioner for having saved his victim from death.

In wading off the assailant’s machete that was aimed at his neck, Chu’s left arm was chopped off, but he still managed with the remaining arm to disarm the attacker. According to sources in Bertoua, a furious mob later lynched the assailant the same day.

“The decision of the Head of State, the Head of the Police Force, to promote me after last year’s incident is not common,” explained Chu Bernard Kum to Cameroon Tribune. “Often, we hear of policemen and women decorated after their death, but in my case, I am still alive. To young officers or those aspiring to join the police, I say there are a lot of risks in the profession, but this should not make them shy away. Every human activity has risks, but that does not stop people from going on with life.

I exalt serving policemen and women to never hesitate in taking risks to save lives and property – that is their role. Any officer who is afraid of taking risks is no longer a policeman,” he concluded.