CDC Board Chair, Hope Sona Ebai final journey begins today

Late CDC Board Chair, Hope Sona Ebai final journey begins today Thursday, April 23, 2026. According to the funeral program, there will be wake-keep at the Board Chair resident at Bota, Limbe beginning at 6pm. 

According to a press release issued by organising committee of Chief Hope Sona Ebai's funeral, Chief Hope Sona Ebai of Manyemen - Upper Balong, will be laid to rest in his native village, Manyemen on Saturday, April 25, 2026. 

The information was disclosed by Dr Emmanuel Eben, Head of Sona Ebai's Njet family, in a meeting at his residence in Kumba on Wednesday, 23 April 2026. 

This brings to an end, weeks of speculation and misinformation over the venue of the burial of the man who was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) since 2021. 

Following the death in 2022 of Chief Jacob Eben, traditional authorities representing the five families of Manyemen engaged a process to pick a worthy son for the throne, which culminated in the designation of Hope Sona Ebai as the new traditional ruler of Manyemen. 

 He was traditionally enthroned on 4 May 2025 in accordance with laid-down traditional procedures and age-old Manyemen customs by the Tiger Chief (the village traditional chief priest), accompanied by Manyemen Family Heads and kingmakers. 

It was a deeply genuine traditional and sacred moment in Manyemen. By the practice, the chosen chief is then presented to the administration for an official ceremony to fulfill administrative formalities. 

The people of Manyemen made that move in defiance of local administrative authorities who engaged a reverse process by conducting an election instead of the highly sacred process. 

Manyemen is an Upper Balong village situated about 83 km from Kumba along the Kumba-Mamfe Road. It is in Nguti Subdivision, Kupe-Muanenguba Division of the Southwest Region. 

Chief Hope Sona Ebai was the nephew of the late Chief Emmanuel Funge Ebai who ruled Manyemen until 1989 when he died and was succeeded by the late Chief Jacob Nkongho Eben. 

Date: 22 April 2026 Contact: Franklin Sone Bayen Spokesman, Manyemen Organizing Committee of Chief Hope Sona Ebai's Funeral Direct Calls: +237 678897167, WhatsApp: +237 656969090, Email: frankbayen@gmail.com

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Late CDC Board Chair, Hope Sona Ebai