Sir Dr. Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle offers a blunt indictment of PCC’s 2024 elections, pens glowing tribute on Rev Dr. Asana’s integrity

The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC, is mourning following the passing of the Very Rev. Dr. Festus Asana, former Moderator and a revered voice for integrity, humility, and peace within the church and beyond.

To reflect on his life, legacy, and the state of the church he served, The Advocate Newspaper sat down with Sir Dr. Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle Senior Advocate of Cameroon, longtime legal counsel to the PCC, and former member of the Board of Trustees.

Sir Dr. Halle worked closely with five Moderators, from Rev. Awasum to the current Moderator, Rev. Miki, and served alongside Dr. Asana during what he calls “the summit of transparency” in the PCC.

In this exclusive interview, he speaks candidly on Dr. Asana’s character, his stand during the turbulent 2024 Moderator elections, the rise of the Truth House movement, and a message to Christians as the church prepares to lay its former Moderator to rest.

How did you receive the news of the passing away of former Moderator, the Very Rev. Dr. Festus Asana? How did the news come to you?

The normal reaction was devastation. I was numbed and shattered, with a lot of disbelief, consternation, and pain. But all of this was allayed by the fact that we had just celebrated his 80th birthday in March.

Even during that celebration, he was not fully himself. Yes, he had taken ill, and every human being falls ill, but we were glad that he recovered and then relapsed.

I was very close to him because we were close even before he became Moderator. To be very honest with you, I am close to all pastors and all Moderators. We might differ on the governance of the church, but we are talking about the church; we are not talking about individuals because the church is not owned by Moderators.

It is owned by all Christians, and I use the word "Christians" to include both the laity and the clergy. You cannot be clergy without being a Christian.

So, my relationship with all pastors, including all Moderators, has been formidable, regardless of the fact that we might have differences of opinion on church governance.

Maybe I should remind you, or inform you, that I started working as the Barrister and lawyer for the church during the time of Reverend Awasum. Then I worked for the church during the administrations of Nku, Asana, Fonki, and Miki, the current Moderator.

I have worked for the church in various capacities, on many Boards, and as a lawyer for the church. It was all pro bono. Pro bono means without pay. They will tell you that I have never sent an invoice for the work that I have been doing for the church, and that is my own way of showing gratitude to God Almighty for all the blessings that He has showered upon me.

Talking about the Very Rev. Dr. Asana, as I said earlier, my relationship with him started when he was the Dean of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary. I used to occasionally send my support to that institution that trained pastors, and I have done that with all the Moderators—not because I have, but because I love.

When you love, even one thousand that you give to somebody is more than ten million that you give grumbling or without love, or even a hundred million that you give without love is nothing. 1st Corinthians 13:1-13.

And so, my relationship with the Very Rev. Dr. Asana, who is no more, was good. This is not to say that my relationship with the other Moderators was not good, but it was particular because I also saw in him a real Moderator—down-to-earth, humble, respectful, spiritual, credible, devoted, unmanipulative, committed, and focused.

I remember when he became Synod Clerk because you had to formally go through the office of Synod Clerk to become Moderator. That was the unwritten practice.

It was a formality you had to go through because, when you are Synod Clerk, you learn the governance of the church and are imbibed with it. So, when you get into the office of Moderator, you are already fully equipped to run the church.

When he was there, I happened to have been a member of the boards in the church, and so we met in Board meetings. He paid me visits in my house in Douala, and it was a wonderful relationship.

To the extent that when he had to celebrate his 40 years of marriage, he retained me as the chairman of the great event. That was when he was Synod Clerk. You know what that means. For him to look around the whole PCC and identify me as the chairperson of his 40th anniversary in marriage could only be an honour, a blessing, and a recognition.

So, I left for Buea, and it was a heavily attended event. People came because this was a simple person, very, very simple—not ballistic, not cantankerous, not problematic, not hostile, not violent, and not materialistic. He was not a megalomaniac or a narcissist, nor was he a greedy person.

When he became Moderator, I was appointed with four others as members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PCC by the Synod Executive Committee.

You should note that I happened to have been in Kumba when he was elected Moderator in my capacity as the National President of the Christian Men Fellowship. I had been attending meetings with him, but that was a particular and very high-profile meeting during which he was elected.

The moment he was elected, he said, "Change has come to the PCC. Transparency has come to the PCC, and accountability."

And behold, during his five years—just one mandate as Moderator—he demonstrated integrity. It was the summit of transparency in the church, the apex of transparency in the church.

During that period, I was also a member of the Board of Trustees, a bona fide member. There were five of us: Mola Kange, who was the Chair of the Board of Trustees; Chief Barrister Ada Kesi, Ba Nkom Raymond Gwanyalla, former Director of Customs; Minister Rose Mbah Acha; and my humble self.

Three of the five bona fide members including myself resigned at the beginning of our second mandate when we discovered that the PCC Constitution was manipulated to eclipse a potential candidate for the post of Moderator.

The Board of Trustees is the highest board in the PCC that oversees the tangible and intangible property of the church and ensures that the church is properly run. As per the PCC Constitution the Board of Trustees runs for three mandates of five years per mandate that is fifteen years and no more.

So, we did five years with him, and you can imagine that I knew him very well and that we had a wonderful relationship. Therefore, his passing, to me, was a big loss—to the entire PCC, to Africa, and to the world—because he was a member of the World Council of Churches.

His wife Nyanga Asana Jenny is a wonderful person too. Not materialistic and overbearing.

His Stand During the Last Elections at the PCC?

You know me; I am a frank person. I hide nothing, so nothing is taboo to me.

When the church faced certain upheavals before 2024 towards the last election of the Moderator, the Very Rev Dr Festus Asana having sent letters to the leadership without any response, he then sent a cautionary letter advising all the pastors and the laity to ensure that the elections were free, fair, transparent, credible, peaceful, and acceptable.

It was a simple and polite letter, but unfortunately, the response towards him was ballistic and hostile. People were hired to bombard him with insults, a former devoted Moderator? Some pastors and Christians did not take that kindly at all.

Rev Asana weighed in to tell KPs that this was not a political party; it was not a njangi. Even in political parties, he had never seen such hostility and manipulations towards fellow pastors.

Some pastors and Christians became disappointed and very, very angry because, at some point, the constitution was raped. As a constitutional expert, I was so shocked that this was happening in the PCC.

Maybe you do not know that I worked on the revision of the constitution of the All Africa Conference of Churches(AACC).

I led the team, and 80 percent of that document was done in my tiny office in Bali-Douala. I went to Kenya so many times to preside over the revision of the constitution.

We had a three-year mandate, and I was appointed by Archbishop Mvumi Dandala of South Africa who was the General Secretary of AACC.

The Commission was made of 17 members drawn from all over Africa. You know what an honour that was for me to chair such a high-powered Committee.

It was a three-year mandate, but we completed the job in two and a half years and Myself accompanied by members of the Committee, delivered it in Abuja-Nigeria in a heavily attended meeting by huge delegations from the All Africa Conference of Churches.

It was unfortunate that I saw how people ganged up to destroy the legacy of the Very Rev. Dr. Festus Asana, who was a very performant, peaceful, and soft-spoken man. He was never aggressive. Now that is gone just wait and see fabricated and concocted eulogies and testimonies by those who demonized him when he lived. Despicable hypocrisy. So, that was a big crash in the church.

Now that he is gone, and after his role in the last election, before his burial, what message are you giving to Christians of the church?

Some well informed Christian came up with the idea of a movement called Truth House. I am sure you have read about Truth House.

When I read the terms of reference, it took me little time to join given the personalities who were already part of Truth House and the fact that we had to bring sanity, sanctity, and spirituality back to the church.

Truth House has been doing great and has gone far, accomplishing quite a lot regardless of little setbacks. The movement is not registered because it is a spiritual movement.

We are not saying that members of Truth House are holier than thou or perfect beings, but at some point, some people must say enough is enough. We cannot continue to go down this road or this path. We cannot continue to go down this lane; we must make a new turn.

I can only exhort Christians to continue to step up their spirituality and condemn the ills of the church. They should not fear persecution and should know that they will be called all kinds of names. People who stand for moral and spiritual values are never loved even in the church.

They should not expect some God to come from heaven to reverse the trend, and they should also prepare to celebrate the life of our late Moderator who has gone.

People should understand that we will all go one day. When your days are over, you will go; when mine are over, I will go. The Very Rev. Dr. Festus Asana had been preparing for his death by doing good and by showing love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, justice, kindness, humility, the fear of the Lord, and self-control.

We should all prepare to receive the mortal remains of this wonderful man of God, whose mandates as Synod Clerk and Moderator were so impactful.

My condolences go to the entire family and to the PCC, but we should thank God for his life because it is not how long you stay on earth that matters, but how well you lived.

And About the Current Moderator?

The current Moderator, I will say, is doing great human frailties notwithstanding.He is a very straight guy. I knew him when he was in the Southwest as Presbyterial Secretary and also in Douala-Bonamoussadi as PS. He was simply caught in the crossfire during the election wahala.

He is a very focused person, not power-drunk. He has no unbridled quest for relevance, wealth, public shows, and all of that for the most part.

When some Christians and pastors were hired to destroy Asana, he was not part of it. When we celebrated Asana's 80th anniversary, he delivered a wonderful meditation. That was in March this year.

We need to pray for him, support him and advise him if and when necessary. He is not ballistic; he takes his time, and we are seeing him putting things in order. Truth House vetted his election despite the high level of manipulation before and during the Synod election.

Thanks for this time, Sir.

Thank you, Advocate, for coming all the way from Limbe. I have not granted an interview to the written press for a long time now, but I accepted this one because it was about someone who impacted not only the PCC but also the World Council of Churches and humanity at large—someone who preached peace and not those who call Christians enemies of the church and subversive elements. Safe journey back to Limbe. Blessings

Interview conducted by The Advocate Newspaper based in Limbe

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Sir Dr. Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle