A BRIEF BIOGRAHY OF HON. SAMUEL NGEH TAMFU
Hon Samuel Ngeh Tamfu was born in August 1935 in Tamba, Taku village in Ndu Sub-division, Donga Mantung Division, North West Region, Cameroon, of peasant parents, namely late Tamfuh Kwi-antuh and Mama Nkosa Nkunku. They are five of them from his parents, two males and three females who are all still living. He is the third child in the family, the first being male, the second, fourth and fifth being females. Hon Tamfu attended primary education in the Cameroon Baptist Mission (CBM) schools at Taku and Ndu from 1944-1941. He passed the entrance examination to secondary school from standard five and not from standard six as was the case at that time. He did his secondary education in the Basel Mission College (BMC) Bali from 1952-1956. He graduated with a West African School Certificate. After his secondary education, he joined the United African Company (UAC) in 1957 in Bamenda and was later sent to Port Harcourt in Nigeria for a year’s training. At the completion of the training he was posted to the branch at Nkambe as Manager in 1958. He served there for one year and decided to quit and join politics in 1959. He joined the Kameroun National Congress (KNC) party in 1959 when he contested elections to the West Cameroon House of Assembly and succeeded. He served as Parliamentarian from 1959 to 1965 as a representative from Nkambe constituency. By 1965, S.N Tamfu was appointed Secretary of State for Economy and Planning in Prime Minister Jua’s government at the age of 29 years. In 1968 he was again made Secretary of State in the Prime Minister’s office for Public Works, in Premier Muna’s Government. He was dropped from the government in 1970. He then left Buea the capital of West Cameroon back to Nkambe town where he settled.
In 1968 he went to the National Assembly at Yaounde as Parliamentarian under the CPDM Party. He was appointed a member of the Central Committee of the CPDM and also a member of the Political Bureau. He has been an outspoken politician with exceptional qualities. He occupied the post of section president of the CPDM section for many years and only handed over five years ago. He is member of the board of directors of SNH in Yaounde.
He had five wives, 11 children 35 grandchildren and many great grandchildren. He retired from active politics recently and moved from Nkambe to Taku village and kept himself as a busy farmer. He however continued to attend important political meetings and rallies. During his rich political career, he helped unaccountable people not only of Wimbum tribe or Donga Mantung but anybody in Cameroon who came his way and needed assistance either in kind, cash or valuable advice. He traveled widely out of Cameroon on political missions on behalf of Cameroon.
The State has honored him with many decorations in recognition of his valuable and tireless contribution to the development of Cameroon; the most recent prestigious decoration being the Knight of the Cameroon Order of Valor.
May his soul rest in peace!
(Written with permission and on behalf of the Tamfu family).
Mr. Henry Mimba Yembe,
Former General Manager of Del Monte Plantation, Tiko, and
Dr. Wilson Tamfu, Senior Lecturer in Law,
University of Buea, Cameroon.
Mr. Mimba: (237) 77828880
Dr. Wilson: (237) 74626387/(237) 97572201
