By Bless Zoshe
Life has returned to normal at the Bilingual Grammar School (BGS) Molyko, Buea, after the discovery of the corpse of a Form 3 student in one of the classrooms on January 3.
When this reporter visited the campus recently, it was business as usual, and everyone seemed to have put the incident behind them.
The principal of BGS Molyko Madam Lois Ebenye Ikome explained that besides moving the affected students to another lecture room, other measures were taken to make the place healthy and conducive for staff and students.
Lois Ebenye Ikome, Principal BGS
“We started off on Monday with a prayer session for obvious reasons. We invited some priests, pastors and the Imam of Buea to come and pray for the school and prepare everybody’s mind, so that we can move on from where we are.”
It was also resolved that henceforth, Form 3A would no longer be used as a regular lecture hall, but as a reading room, while counselors have been put the disposal of students, for prompt intervention, in case of psychological trauma.
The prayer session was reinforced by a special counseling session with students of Form 3D, which according to the principal, was not only to provide them the much needed psychological boost to continue their studies, but was also aimed at letting the students express themselves on lessons drawn from the January 3 incident.
“They told me they have learnt not to spend their time on wrong activities like gambling; they should avoid bad friends, and not leave home without permission; that they should be obedient and hardworking. It is painful and traumatic but when things happen like this, the important thing is to learn from them and move on. We cannot change what has happened, but we change ourselves to be better suited for the future. All of us don’t want this kind of thing to happen again in this school, we all want to continue and end our academic year well.” Ikome remarked.
So far, nothing concrete has filtered from police investigations. Thus, the exact cause of the student’s death remains largely blurred. “Our hearts go to the family. We’ve been in constant contact with them to find out if they know anything more, but so far, they do not. The investigations are ongoing, but I do not know the report yet. Ikome said.
However, revelations from school authorities, friends and classmates point to the fact that the deceased Lovette Fongo may have been involved in gambling, either with cards or money, as a number of students are reported to have been caught and punished in school for such illicit activities.
“The students themselves said that, so definitely, some wrong things have been going on. Some of them have been involved in wrong activities, and they think it is time to change. We hope that many of them will change because of this.. The principal affirmed.
It is also alleged that prior to his demise, the 16year-old had fled from home after stealing a huge sum of money from his aunt. All these only add up to the eccentric circumstances surrounding Fongo’s death.
The corpse of late Lovette Fongo was discovered in the morning of Thursday January 3, by one of the discipline masters, as he went round opening classrooms for the start of the second term of the 2012/2013 academic year.
After consultation with Secondary Education hierarchy, the students were given a day off for health reasons, while the body in an advanced state of decomposition was interred the same day in Buea.
