Zacchaeus Tanto Gwei - Online Memorial Website

Any one who ever meet Papa Gwei would testify that he was a man you could not meet and be indifferent. I remember when I was in high school and would sometimes go to spend a few days of holidays with him. Wherever he had gone to after work, he was sure to show up for evening devotions and make certain that the entire household was present; then he would preside, be song leader at the same time while beating the drums so loudly. None of us of cause could dare grumble, not even Sis who was the most audacious of us all. My visits to Ntumbaw were always so eventful, I was sure to leave with a bag full of goodies including mbunturuh that Pa would have mounted a guard to preserve in his famous garden. When I grow up to be a woman, especially during his final years of life when he would come visiting in Douala, I became his confident, he would not hesitate to share his deep feelings with me. Of cause memories that I deliberately want to recount but a few would be incomplete if I forget the story of our carpet that as long as Pa was alive, no one could step on in his presence. It brings tears to my eyes to know that Pa’s casket will probably be mounted on that same carpet. I saw him for the last time a week or so before he departed and the last thing he requested from me was a word of prayer. The last personhe visited on this earth was his sister in Ndu. You are gone but will live on in our memories.

                                                                                                   Nice, Elizabeth Ngala Mbeng

papa, i grieve because, i will not have to report back to you what you asked me to do. i had a little close to you though a big memory of your stories. i remember your very first words to me, "work hard and make your father proud because he is a good man". those words i held unto, but now daddy, i will not have to see you again to tell you of how far i finally became. my family and i are so grateful for the love you showed to us. we love you but God loves you most.

T Gwei:

During one of your many transfers around the country, you came to the Ndian Divisional Council at Ekondo-titi which had a red Balance Sheet. As the Treasurer and strict Financial Manager, you turned the red into blue when you moved.

You started a house church for the Baptist Christians which met in your home, then the Customary Court Hall till it acquired the present premises. Today, the Ekondo-titi Baptist Church is one of the largest denominations with a Class Seven Primary School in Ndian Division.

Back in our village, you were one of the most prominent people in Warr, Ntumbaw and Mbuntzi in general. You occupied a special seat, now vacant, in the Mini-palace of Shu-Fai Warr. When the Njang of Warr, code name”Nwarong Nkwi Warr” was performing and either your brother’s wife, Mami Maria Bonya or sister Mami Magdalene Murkwi led in singing, the climax was always reached when the Shu- Fai  Warr and you entered the performance with your unique way of  drumming the” Ndunshu”.

You were a leader in your Church, the Berean Baptist Church of Ntumbaw where as the Building Committee Chairman, you organized and laid the foundation stone of the present Fellowship complex.

You led the Men’s Choir and was its member till your departure, who will be wearing your uniform?

Pa Z,T 83 years on earth is a very long time but we wish that you had lived much longer. The Lord Almighty God has decided and we totally submit ourselves to His will. Pa, go in peace and we shall see you at the right hand of Jesus.

Edward and Veronica Kwiyup

 

OH DEATH HOW CRUEL YOU ARE

Oh death how cruel you are

Oh death how wicked you are

Oh death how shameful you are

You bring many people together

Oh death how cruel you are

Before you I had very few to say “ASHIA”

Oh death how cruel you are

Before you almost everyone was busy, many traveled, some took ill

Oh death how cruel you are

You are here, all and sundry have come

Oh death how cruel you are

You invite, you scatter

Oh death how cruel you are

Before you , I had very few to carter for me

Here you are and I m buried like a king/queen

Oh death how cruel you are

Before you I had no clothes

You are here and I m dressed in royalties

Oh death how cruel you are

I hardly had food to eat,

Because of you people can dine as kings and queens

Oh death how cruel you are

Before people said very little good about me

Since your arrival, and I m unable to react, I m revered as if after GOD is me

Oh death how cruel you are

Where as I could stand and defend myself people told all manner of lies against me

Your presence has closed the mouths of many and very few if any can say anything evil against me though paradoxically I can’t lift a finger

Oh death how cruel you are

Thank GOD your victory has been swallowed: 1 Corinthians 15:54b

By Isaac Gwei (son)

By Elias Bongmba

The death of Mr. Z.T. Gwei in Ntumbaw on February 26, 2015 has hit the Gwei family, the Warr family, and the Ntumbaw community in a very hard way. Pa Gwei as all his relatives called him, was an iconic figure in the Warr family. Pa loved to call himself “Gwei Muyob” (after his father) and from time to time would say, “I am Zacchaeus Tanto Gwei” if he wanted to take a stand.  Pa Gwei completed his education in 1949 and joined the local government and since then was trained in local government legal services early on in his career. He rose to the position of court clerk (judge) in the fifties, and in the sixties he transitioned to the council where he rose up the ranks into treasurer and the Executive Secretary, in a storied career, which began among his people in Wimbum land and took him to all the sub divisions of Donga Mantung Division, to Mezam Division, Meme Division,  Ndian Division, Mentchum Division, and back to Mexam (specifically where he served two long tours in Ndop), before retiring from service when he was stationed in Nwa. Pa was affectionately called in the village “kilang” (Clerk). Growing up, many only knew Pa Gwei as Kilang.
 

Pa Gwei was a charismatic figure. He had a commanding personality that was matched by his work discipline. He worked hard at everything he pursued in life and was a great competitor who wanted to be known as the person who did things right. That discipline stayed with him and he took it everywhere he worked. His desire for efficiency was remarkable; some loved it, but some complained that Pa pushed hard. Every time he came home with his family on leave, he was surrounded by everyone in the village and people from neighboring villages stopped to seek his opinion, get free legal advice, and learn about the complicated court system, especially when one point there were several courts in each division including the so called “native authority courts.” Each time he was back home, he entertained people making sure that everyone had his or her fill. He always made sure he bought salt and oil for the women of Warr family. In his past time, Pa played and taught many the guitar, drumming, the flute and the xylophone.
 

When Pa retired from the public service, he embarked on a new career in agriculture. His first farm was on his backyard just adjacent Ntumbaw Market where he planted coffee and fruit trees, which people thought, could never grow in Ntumbaw, but he proved them wrong. He later cultivated on farms at Mbaw, a feat that surprised many who asked him why he did this since he did not need the money. However, Pa Gwei persisted because he loved farming, and wanted to set an example. His interest in agriculture had a long history. Pa Gwei actually started growing rice in Ndop where he and his children started a modern garden and grew tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, oregano, and used those to supplement the family food supplied and enjoyed sharing them with his friends. During his time at Mbiyeh, he raised chickens, one of the early experiments in poultry farming, and at Ntumbaw he planted several bee hives and produced honey.
 

I will remember Pa Gwei for several things.  He was a devoted family man. He loved his family and would do everything to protect them. He was a tough disciplinarian who many times was harder on his children than one would have expected. What I think was remarkable about Pa Gwei is the fact that he wanted his children to be as honest and open with him as he was with them. He did not mind an argument with his son or daughter; in fact, he sometimes seemed to cherish it, especially if he wanted one of children to substantiate the point he or she was making. You just did not come in and started to tell “kilang” nonsense if you could not substantiate it. If you walked in on some of those discussions, you might have made a mistake thinking Pa was fighting with his son or daughter, but most of the time, he just wanted them and all around him to know that one had to accept responsibility for his or her position.

 

Second, Pa was honest, some might say too honest in some cases where he could have used some diplomacy. He was one person who never kept you doubting what his position was on something. He did not play games, (he actually enjoyed having fun) but when it came to the things that matter in life, Pa was always direct, and did not want to fool or pretend to anyone. He believed the old saying, “honesty is the best policy.” I think this honesty worked for him and he got along with people even if they disagreed with a position he had taken.

Third, Pa loved to settle and establish roots. The most important source of his grounding was his marriage. Pa was married to thee wives from the three win bum clans! The first wife, Grace Lokeh from Njilah for Njep-Yah; the second wife, Agnes Bonsa from Mbot for Njep-Warr; the third wife, Debora Nduvtoh from Mbiyeh for Njep-Tang; one princess, one a daughter of a princess and one the daughter of a wifah. Looking at it now, one might think he schemed to do all of this because he loved everything Wimbum and wanted to display all facets and aspects of Wimbum even in his marriage, but I do not think so. These were beautiful and graceful ladies, each with a calming presence that always neutralized Pa’s abundant supply of energy and kept Pa Gwei grounded. We all loved our mothers, who on return to Ntumbaw never acted like the évolués, but were just our mothers and our other mothers could rub shoulders with them.
 

I am amazed that as much as he moved up and down the former West Cameroon, Pa managed to establish roots, and build houses in different places. I do not think this was a display of wealth, but a desire to be rooted in the community where he lived. It was his way of connecting with people. But his roots were always in Ntumbaw, and he loved coming back to Ntumbaw and mingling with his large Warr family. It is not a surprise to me that a man who was so rooted in a community everywhere and loved his village, would be blessed to return to his roots and say his final good bye. It was very much like Pa ZT; that he would die in the hands of his family and his people, where his roots were established.
 

Fourth Pa Gwei was a devout Christian. Everywhere he served, he was an active member of the Baptist church. I visited the family in Ndop when I went to attend Field Conference. Pa was so excited and talked about their church in Ndop the whole time I was there. He actually took the lead in establishing the Baptist Church in Ekondo Titi (Ndian Division), which started as a prayer group in his house and then he asked Council for permission to use one of their buildings. He would eventually find a piece of land for the church to build its own building. Everyone in his family was active and if you did not belong, you had something to explain. When he retired and returned to Ntumbaw, his relatives and the people in the village had an opportunity to see him at work on the leadership team of Berean Baptist Church in Ntumbaw. Pa Gwei could have stepped back, but he remained engaged and provided much needed leadership to a growing faith community as he and others saw Baptist work in Ntumbaw and the Mbuntzi expand. He served as Chair of the building Committee that constructed the present Church building at Ntumbaw.
 

Pa Gwei was a man of great accomplishments and had a reputation that was larger than his physical size. But for his family and those of us in the Warr family and Ntumbaw, he was Pa Gwei, who was always there. That presence was even more crucial for us because he was the only senior member of the Warr family, all his other age mates and brothers and cousins from the Fai, Ndzi, Gwei, Ngwang, and Yongka, households that make up the “Wi Warr Ngwi” family of Ntumbaw having departed, we thought he will be there forever. But God had other plans for him, and we mourn. We will miss him dearly because we fear that there may be no charismatic and candid person, whom we will call Pa and our mothers and fathers call “kilang.” As we pour out our grief, we also pray that God will make us responsible and engaged in the family, community, the faith community, and be full of life as Pa Z. T. Gwei. He is looking down at us and telling us to do just that. Farewell Gwei Muyob, farewell Pa Gwei, farewell Kilang; may your ancestors welcome you and the God you served, receive you in his reign.

My condolences, as feelings of pain and bitterness become unbearable. It is my desire to convey a comforting thought based on the Holy Scriptures

          

  John 5:28 "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out."

 

 

This passage speaks of the resurrection of our loved ones. It is not God's plan to see us suffer and die, so He extends the following invitation to us: "Come near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8)

 

Please go to the following link to obtain more information regarding the Hope expressed in this passage and again we are sorry for your loss.

 

 http://www.jw.org

  

I had come close to Pa ZT Gwei for a very short time but have heard so much from my father Jonah Jab Ngwayi who was not only a neighbour where he lived in Ntumbaw but someone they worked together both in Ntumbaw Baptist Church especially for the building project of the church and in the community.

For the short time I knew Pa ZT Gwei, if I can  describe him in a phrase, it will be 
"Frank and humorous". I met him in his home in Ntumbaw and prayed with him. One time on our way from Ntumbaw with Ngankeng Eric and others, we stopped to pray with him in Kumbo when he was sick and even in that state, pa could still crack jokes for us.

The last time I saw Pa ZT Gwei was in Yaounde sometime in August last year 2014. I was very humbled when Pa told me that even that morning he prayed for me thinking I had already gone for further studies. He did not go to church that Sunday because he was not feeling very well. I went with my wife and children. That day happened to be childrens Sunday at Etoug ebe baptist church. I shared from God's word and the children recited their memory verses they recited in Church. Pa was very excited and when I finished praying for Pa, he told me that he did not go to church but the church has come to meet him in the house. Shortly after that he went on telling me of their new pastor in Ntumbaw BAptist church and the work that was going on there. Right there  called my father Jonah Jab Ngwayi in our presence to tell him he was with us and with the children. He even gave me the phone to talk with my father which I did.He took my phone number and stored in his phone. We talked until Ma Gwei Elizabeth came home and met us still sharing.

I left that day not knowing that it was the last time I will see him on this side of heaven. May God console the family, church and the village as they mourn Pa ZT Gwei's departure. May His legacy continue to impact the family and the wider community as we wait for our own days to follow because like David said in the Bible, we will go to him, but he cannot come to us.  May the peace of the God he served reign before, during and after his burial. AMEN

 

We shall live to mourn you papa.....Rest in perfect peace. And to your family as a whole, be rest assure you have people to count on in the absence of dad.

 

Pa the message of your departure took us by surprise. I was speechless when the message got to us. Pa was a very loving and caring person irrespective of whom or where you were from. I remember my late mother Mami Mary Ngwakfu Gantar told me before she passed away how pa came to visit her  when she was just discharged from the hospital in Banso and he himself had just been discharged also but was able to make time to come and visit with her. This shows what type of person pa was. I can go on and on on  how pa impacted alot on peoples lives. 
May his soul rest in perfect peace and untill we meet again.

Pa the message of your death came as a shock that has left us in a daze. We now understand why one can never question the will of God. Fairwell Pa, as you go to prepare a place for us. Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.