Jean Baptiste Bokam, Secretary of State at MINDEF in-charge of the Gendarmerie, installed the new officers in Buea.
New men have taken over command at the helm of the Military and the Gendarmerie in Buea for the South West Region. They are Brigadier General Donatien Melingui Nouma and Colonel Jules Ndjeuha respectively commanders of the 21st Motorised Infantry Brigade (French acronym, 21e BRIM) and the Regional Gendarmerie Legion.
To usher the fresh men into function, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence in Charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam, made the journey to the South West regional capital, Buea, to situate the context, measure the climate and dish out specific instructions for the in-coming officers.
The installation exercise drew local and visiting political, cultural and administrative authorities as well as family members, friends and curious on-lookers to the Buea ceremonial ground near Clerks Quarters last 21 July, 2017. To these and the rest of the inhabitants of the South West Region, the Secretary of State, Bokam, prescribed collaboration, peace and harmony to enable both men crack down on the heightening insecurity in the South West. To this effect, the Gendarmerie Boss called on the newly installed officers to give the citizens the expected proximity and protection of lives and property. Mr. Bokam cited maritime illegal fishing and pollution as well as drug trafficking as some of the urgent ills to address during the officers’ mission.
The Secretary of State called for a minute of silence in remembrance of the 34 military and civilian personnel who had gone missing in a military vessel that sank off the shores of Debunscha near Limbe in the South West Region in the morning of 16 July, 2017.
As the Secretary of State, Bokam, addressed the ceremony in English at the Clerks Quarters ceremonial ground, the audience rejoiced over clear instructions to the new officers to curb road accidents, ensure a skillful management of crises and track road pirates in the Region.