ISBN 9789956791941
Pages 204
Dimensions 216 x 140mm
Illustrations B/W Illustrations
Published 2014
Publisher Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon
Format Paperback

The Life and Times of a Cameroonian Icon

Tribute to Lapiro De Mbanga Ngata Man

by Peter W. Vakunta

This book is the celebration of one man's vendetta against a cancerous regime that thrives on the rape of democracy and human rights abuses. Lapiro de Mbanga, born Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger on April 7, 1957 was a conduit for social change. He fought for change in his homeland and died fighting for change in Cameroon. Lapiro believed in the innate goodness of man but also had the conviction that absolute power corrupts absolutely. He was noted for contending that "power creates monsters." His entire musical career was devoted to fighting the cause of the downtrodden in Cameroon. He composed satirical songs on the socio-economic dysphonia in his beleaguered country. In his songs, he articulated the daily travails of the man in the street and the government-orchestrated injustices he witnessed. As a songwriter, Lapiro de Mbanga distinguished himself from his peers through bravado, valiance and the courage to say overtly what many a Cameroonian musician would only mumble in the privacy of their homes. Lapiro's anti-establishment music led to his arrest and imprisonment in September 2009 for three years. Released from prison on April 8, 2011 he was later given political asylum by the USA. On September 2, 2012 Lapiro relocated with some members of his family to Buffalo in New York where he died on March 16, 2014 after an illness. His revolutionary music and fighting spirit live on.

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About the Author

Peter W. Vakunta

Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta is a native of Bamunka-Ndop in the Northwest Region of the Republic of Cameroon. His education is global. Peter studied in Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, France and the United States of America. His research interests are cross-disciplinary and straddle the worlds of Francophonie and the Commonwealth. Peter is a prolific writer with over fifteen works on literary theory and fiction under his belt. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Indianapolis in the United States of America.