OPEN LETTER
To: His Grace, Archbishop Andrew Nkea
Metropolitan Archbishop of Bamenda
President, National Episcopal Conference of The Cameroons.
From: Abdulkarim Ali, (Kondengui Central Prison, Yaounde)
Subject: On Pope Leo XIV’s Visit: When the Shepherd Keeps Silence, What Becomes of the Blood Crying from the Soil?
Date: 27, Febrauray, 2026
“When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him. It has happened because neither you nor I
wanted to give him what he needed.” St. Teresa of Calcutta
My Brother in Faith and My Dear Friend,
I release these words to the public so that angels and men bear witness: I did not allow His Grace to go without counsel at this critical hour of his pastoral calling, and as a Muslim I did not betray my brother in faith.
I write from a cell—not seeking my own freedom (I have accepted my persecution) but to hold up a prism to the suffering of Southern Cameroons. Ten years of war is enough time to watch in little action
and deceitful truces while people die. The prophets do not let us look away: “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression”_ (Isaiah 1:17).
The Bible puts the demand plainly: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?”_ (Micah 6:8).
Turn the prism one way, Catholics denied the Eucharist at checkpoints; another, Muslims watching boys disappear after evening prayer; another, Protestants burying children in bush graves; at the center, mothers who share only hunger and fear, no matter the creed.
The Qur’an anchors my own duty: it commands solidarity in deeds: “To each of you We have given a law and a way… so compete in good deeds and shun evil” (Quran 5:48). Oppression is evil. Killing of
innocent souls is evil. If there are ten Southern Cameroonians who know how much I love
our people and my sincerity in the work I do for them, you count top among them. You know I would be in the front row of the diocese listening to you and the Pope if I were free. That is why I am speaking directly to you now.
Brother, our land has become desolation. Thousands dead, and the numbers add with the ticking of the clock. Families scattered as
refugees in Nigeria, forests filled with internally displaced people who sleep without roofs, prisons swelling with people whose crime is longing for justice. You have walked those empty parishes; you know the “pathetic” conditions firsthand.
Our story is simple in political terms. Two peoples attempted a political union, and one chose to annex and assimilate the other. The victim is
Southern Cameroons—and her suffering poor children. It turned into a raging war. His Holiness can end this war on his first day in Yaoundé.
The news that Pope Leo XIV will make the Cameroons his third or fourth international destination this April is not protocol—it is a God-
guided crack of light. I got so overwhelmed when God revealed to the Pope that Southern Cameroons and LRC are in need of salvation, hence, his coming to Bamenda in particular. As Peter was given the
keys and charged to feed the sheep, so the Pope’s voice and determination today can move what armies, money, power and tyranny cannot._ To me, this looks like the last opportunity God will avail you
to be the one through whom God ends this slaughter.
The Church holds leverage no army or assembly can match. History keeps proof:
- Beagle Channel (1978–1984):_ Vatican mediation stopped Argentina and Chile from sliding into war.
- Mozambique (1992):_ The Community of Sant’Egidio helped broker the Rome General Peace Accords, ending a sixteen-year civil war.
- US–Cuba (2014–2015):_ The Holy See facilitated the rapprochement that reopened diplomatic ties. .
Proof to the world that the Biya regime is exactly what we accuse it of: I dare the regime to reject a candid and direct request from the Pope— to cease fire, release prisoners of conscience, and engage in meaningful mediated dialogue and negotiations_ as a means to end this bloody conflict, driven by annexation and disrespect
Let the regime show its hand; we already know what it will reveal, and God is great and has power over all things. Do not let the Holy Father’s visit be remembered only for song and vestments while the people continue to bleed. Use his presence to demand those concrete steps, so the “grass” stops suffering because the “elephants” are finally moved to peace in justice.
Please also convey my love and gratitude, on behalf of Muslims and Southern Cameroonians, to His Holiness for his courage and compassion. The blood of the innocent cries out from the soil of Southern Cameroons. My spirit is unchained; my hope rests with the Lord—and with your courage.
Sincerely in hope and solidarity,
Abdulkarim Ali
