Some Christians were able to go to church to pray on Monday 25th December, despite separatists ordering people to stay at home.

A few days before Christmas, separatist groups reiterated the order that has been in place for years i.e ghost town. It happens every Monday.

Every Monday, they banned all activities in the region and asked all those living there to stay indoors. This Monday fell on Christmas Day. Due to the explosion in the market at the T-junction and all the other threats, some of the streets remained deserted. However, some Christians defied the restrictions and went to church.

This was the case at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda. A papal mass was celebrated in the morning. At the end of the mass, the Archbishop of Bamenda, Andrew Nkea, declared that no one should think of this day as a Monday. Everyone should see it as Christmas Day. He urged Christians to “go out, celebrate, rejoice, eat and drink” on the occasion of Christ’s birth.