Christian Tumi

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Christian Wiyghan Tumi (15 October 1930 – 3 April 2021) was a prominent Cameroonian Catholic leader. He served as Archbishop of Douala from 1991 to 2009 and had earlier roles as Bishop of Yagoua (1979/80–1982) and Archbishop of Garoua (1984–1991). In 1988, Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal, making him the first and, for many years, the only cardinal from Cameroon.

Born in Kikaikelaki near Kumbo in the Northwest Region, Tumi studied at local seminaries, trained as a teacher in Nigeria and London, and earned a theology licentiate from the Catholic University of Lyon and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Buéa on 17 April 1966, worked as a Vicar in Soppo, taught at a seminary, and later became rector of the seminary in Bambui.

As a church leader, Tumi spoke out on national issues in Cameroon. He supported the idea of federalism to allow Francophone and Anglophone regions to coexist and opposed moves to suppress Anglophone culture. In 2009, he led a large march in Douala protesting the Maputo Protocol on women's rights. In 2005, he commented on the use of condoms within marriage to protect against AIDS, saying it “makes sense” though he did not expect the Church’s ban to change.

Tumi was kidnapped briefly on 5 November 2020 and released the next day; footage of his interrogation was later released. He died in Douala on 3 April 2021 after an illness. His motto was “Me voici je viens faire ta volonté.”