Maurice Enoh: The 1st Manyu Ekpe USA Sessekou to die in USA

Bario,

Sessekou Maurice Ako Enoh, senior member of Ekpe-USA and former National President of MECA-USA, answered the call to join our ancestors today. He ceased to be one of us and became an ancestor on this blessed Sunday morning, January 8th 2012, after a very brief but aggressive battle with cancer. Maurice is the first Ekpe-USA Sessekou to die in America, and the third Ekpe Sessekou from Manyu Division in Cameroon to die in the United States.

Sessekou Maurice Ako Enoh was born on March 16th 1968, the son of Late Sessekou Mathias Enoh-Akpo who died when Maurice was still a baby. He inherited the title of Sessekou or Nfor Ngbe from his father and was officially crowned as Sessekou on Saturday the 23rd day of May 2009. On that day, Maurice who was born in Kepelle Village in the Upper Banyang Subdivision, in Manyu Division, in the Cross River region of Cameroon where Ekpe originated, completed the rites necessary to rekindle their Ekpe house which had remained dormant for over 30 years, and replanted the Ekpe stone of his late father. On that blessed day, an extremely rare event occurred as an Obasinjom emerged to support this young Ekpe chief whom, onlookers were astonished at the similarity of his agile dance moves to that of his late father.

The young Sessekou cherished Manyu Culture since childhood as could be seen from his unusually high level of participation in Manyu events. He frequently encouraged Manyu youths to participate in community activities. As a child who was introduced to Ekpe at a very young age, he worked very closely with the Ekpe members in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area while carefully ensuring that he did not break any Ekpe Rules and fast became an Ekpe Chief of exemplary character.

Sessekou Enoh came to the Untied States in 1993 and lived in Alexandria, Virginia, until 2007 when he moved to Mansfield, Texas, where he lived with his family until his death.

When he lived in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, he was a very active member of MECA-DC, and the Chief Whip of the Upper Banyang Sub-divisional Group in that Chapter. He became the Secretary General of MECA-Dallas when he moved there, and then became the President of MECA-USA from 2009 to 2011. He has been an active member of The Ekpe Society in USA since 2009. He leaves behind a wife, kids and several siblings.

All Ekpe members are hereby put on notice to start individual and collective preparations to do what our customs and traditions require, to do what is necessary to assist our fallen Sessekou through his final journey to meet our maker. (The above information is based material in the archives of Ekpe-USA provided by Late Sessekou Maurice Ako Enoh himself).

The tentative program is as follows: January 27th and 28th, 2012. Wake Keeping, Viewing and service in Dallas, Texas. The remains will then be taken to Kepelle Village in Cameroon for burial after that.

Mutame!!! Hiii!!!

Sessekou Solomon Egbe, Esq.
On behalf of Ekpe-USA