For his huge contribution to media landscape: CAMIFF inducts NCC boss into Cameroon Wall of Fame.

The induction award was handed over by the Canadian High Commissioner to Cameroon, H.E Marie-Claude Harvey. 

CAMIFF officials said the decoration is for his glorious contribution to the media landscape of the country. Chebongkeng was inducted alongside 15 other media and cinematic personalities. 

In his acceptance speech, Chebongkeng expressed deep honour to have been chosen by the Board of Governors of CAMIFF, for the recognition. 

The celebrated journalist, also said he received the award with humility, for the impact he made during his active years in the journalism profession. “What was said about me gives me some degree of humility to understand that when I was practicing, a lot of people were watching and listening to me and to be able to craft a personality in me,” Chebongkeng said. 

The NCC President expressed hope that “…what I have done in the media has helped the younger ones to be able to pick up”. 

According to him, “when you want to speak on the air, you speak to a wider public and you speak the language the way it's supposed to be spoken…”.

He then recounted an anecdote about his encounter with a BBC journalist, several years ago, who was amazed by his mastery of the King’s language and was bamboozled to know he studied in Cameroon and his home village. 

“I remember some years when I was running sports commentary, a BBC reporter asked me whether I studied English out of Cameroon...I told him that I studied in my home village, Nwa, and that I grew up there and that's where I learned how to speak the English language. He said; ‘but you speak like a British’, I said ‘no, this is Standard Cameroonian English”.

Praised resilience of CAMIFF initiator

As the annual film festival reached a milestone of ten years of existence, the NCC President said he was astonished by the resilience of the initiator, Agbor Gilbert. 

He said the festival has grown to attracting high-profile personalities from Cameroon, Nigeria and other parts of the world.

He said it is a way of encouraging bilateral and multilateral cooperation and artistic exchange between the Nigerian and Cameroonian entertainment industries as well as other countries. 

“I am here to support Agbor Gilbert for his resilience and for managing to hold on to this dream, which he had over a decade ago,” he said, noting that, "CAMIFF is gradually coming to reality and also to help promote this art in our country”.

The annual film festival was initiated by revered actor and industry promoter, Agbor Gilbert. This year’s edition of the festival marked its 10th anniversary.

Double celebration for Chebongkeng

Last Saturday’s event marked a double celebration for the NCC President. April 25, 2026, which marked his induction into the Cameroon Wall of Fame, was coincidentally his birthday. 

He was later joined by collaborators, colleagues, family members and tribes people to celebrate the dual event. 

The privately organised reception was graced by former colleague and classmate, retired Fon Echekiye, Nwa Subdivision elite as well as the Second Class traditional ruler of Mfe in Nwa Subdivision, Donga Mantung Division of the North West Region. 

The Second Class traditional ruler called on the ancestors to continue guiding and directing the illustrious son of the Subdivision. 

VIP-packed event 

Meanwhile, the CAMIFF Award Night was attended by high-profile delegation of Nigerian and Cameroonian film icons including Ramsey Noah and Ruth Kadiri. 

The Mayor of Buea, the Nigerian Consul General to the North West and South West Regions, Secretary General to the South West Governor’s Office amongst other important personalities graced the event. 

It should also be recalled that the glamour-focused CAMIFF holds every year in Buea, South West Regional Capital and is dedicated to promoting African cinema, showcasing emerging storytellers, and fostering cross-cultural dialogue. 

Founded in 2016 by Agbor Gilbert Ebot, the festival seeks to turn Buea into a regional cultural hub through film screenings, workshops, and networking.

About NCC boss

Chebonkeng studied at the Joseph Merrick Baptist College, JMBC in Ndu, Donga Mantung Division; then Government High School, GHS now Government Bilingual High School, GBHS, Mbengwi in Momo Division.

He proceeded to the University of Yaounde I before later undergoing journalism training at the Advanced School of Mass Communication, ASMAC, Yaounde.

After ASMAC in1989, Chebonkeng started working at the State-run Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV, as a sports reporter. He rose through the ranks becoming Deputy-Chief for Sports; Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Radio Sports, Deputy-Editor-in-Chief for TV news and Deputy TV Director for Information. He did his last football commentaries at the 2003 FIFA Confederation Cup in France. 

During his over 30 years at the CRTV, he served in different other capacities before retiring in 2020. 

At 65, the father of six children, former Vice Chairperson of the National Referee Committee and former President of the Cameroon Baptist Convention, CBC, is still blazing the trail at NCC in no small way.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3773 of Monday April 27, 2026