Hordes Flock to ‘Apparition’ of Jesus in Cameroon Home  · Global Voices
Dibussi Tande

Residents of Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital city, woke up on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 to the news that the image of Jesus Christ had appeared in a home in the Odza neighborhood. This sparked mass hysteria [fr] as the faithful and the curious flocked to the neighborhood to see [fr] the Easter miracle for themselves.
A few days later, Mgr. Samuel Kleda, the Archbishop of Douala, dismissed [fr] the alleged apparition as a hoax, but this did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the faithful who continued to throng to the home of Amougui Minkan. Some even scaled the fence around the house to avoid the long lines.
News of the apparition instantly became a trending topic in Cameroon on Twitter where users tweeted about the claim with incredulity and levity.
Blogger @ngimbis questioned what exactly people were seeing on the wall:
Jésus sur le mur à Odza. Massa! faut avoir les lunettes de visée céleste pour le voir hein? pic.twitter.com/abbseMEAWk
— Florian Ngimbis (@ngimbis) April 17, 2014
Man! You will need celestial telescopic sights to see him, right?
Many found it hilarious that Jesus would choose to appear in Cameroon of all places:
That Jesus is back ?? lol even if Jesus gonna come back it can't be in Cameroon…Nopeeee!****
— IG:adamiby (@adam_ib_rahim) April 17, 2014
The fact that the apparition occurred in Odza, which is next to Nsimalen, a neighborhood where there was an apparition of Mary, Jesus’ mother, in May 1986 was not lost on many:
Apparemment Jésus et sa mère ont déménagé pour deux quartiers voisins: Odza et Nsimalen!! Le Cameroun est béni
— #Yeezus2.0 (@FrLoEko) April 18, 2014
Apparently, Jesus and his mother have moved into two neighborhoods that are next to each other. Cameroon is blessed
@ntrjack could not resist going back to the age old debate about Jesus’ race:
Massa, même dans les apparitions Jésus est Blanc. La fin d'un débat. “@Joorynhairlover: “jésus” d'Odza pic.twitter.com/xpZQMpibs3“”
— Jackson™ (@ntrjack) April 17, 2014
So Jesus is white even in apparitions. This settles the debate
And @lesikanel teased:
J'attends toujours qu'on poste le Selfie avec Jesus a Odza.
— Nelson Simo (@lesikanel) April 17, 2014
I am still waiting for someone to post a selfie with Jesus at Odza
To some, the apparition was an opportunity for some social and political commentary. For @TjatBass, Jesus appearing in Yaounde was of no consequence:
Jesus là aime beaucoup le Cameroun, hein ! Mais il ya toujours la galère, beaucoup d'injustice et de gens qui meurent là bas. wèèèèèhhhhh
— Tjat Bass (@TjatBass) April 17, 2014
Jesus really loves Cameroon! But there is still misery, lots of injustice and many people are dying.
@ngimbis on the other hand reminded Cameroonians that President Paul Biya had still not been seen or heard from since he attended the Africa-EU summit in Brussels on April 2-3, 2014:
si ça se trouve, le Jesus d'Odza est venu assurer l'intérim de notre président porté disparu depuis un certain somme de l'UE.
— Florian Ngimbis (@ngimbis) April 17, 2014
If he is found, Jesus of Odza will serve as the interim for our president who has been missing since the EU summit.
Business has been booming in Odza since the apparition. Not wanting to be left behind, the owners of the home where Jesus is said to have appeared are now asking for donations:
Jesus le fils de Dieu qui est Dieu est apparu au Cameroun à Yaoundé, pendant la semaine sainte, dans une maison. L'entrée est payante…#DDL
— Serge Mbarga Owona (@Manekang) April 17, 2014
Jesus the son of God appeared in Yaounde, Cameroon during Holy Week. In a house. There’s now an admission fee.
A week after the legend of Jesus of Odza began, many are still making the pilgrimage [fr] to Odza while the debate about the authenticity of the apparition rages on. In the meantime, the dominant view seems to be this one colorfully expressed by @Difredsimpson:
#JesusAYaounde hahahahaha bullshit of the month pic.twitter.com/eHPxuVhWSU
— Simpson (@Difredsimpson) April 18, 2014