Emmanuel Ngwa Tabe
Premium memorial FeaturedLovingly known as “Manu”
10 April 1992 — 22 November 2025 · aged 33
The calm morning voice of CRTV Buea and a young journalist loved by his listeners
Buea, Cameroon Born in Bamenda, North-West Region Resting at Family compound, Mankon, BamendaAbout Emmanuel
Every weekday morning at six, for nine years, a calm voice told Buea that the fog would lift by ten, that the road to Limbe was clear and that everyone should remember to eat before work. Thousands of people set their kettles by Emmanuel Tabe.
Born in Bamenda in 1992, the second child of a teacher and a nurse, Emmanuel grew up reading every newspaper in the house, including the ones his parents said were too old. He attended Presbyterian Secondary School in Mankon, where the debating club discovered that he could argue both sides of a question and still be liked by everyone. In 2010 he enrolled at the University of Buea to study Journalism and Mass Communication, graduating in 2013 and joining the regional station of CRTV in Buea as an intern the following year.
By 2016 he was presenting the morning show, mixing the news, the weather, traffic, birthday greetings and the occasional Cameroonian pidgin proverb. He read the day's condolence announcements gently and slowly, because, he said, 'someone's mother is listening.' Through some of the quietest and hardest years Buea has known, he kept the broadcast going, believing that people needed to hear a steady voice.
Outside the studio he coached under-twelve football on Saturdays with the Buea Street Soccer Project, supported Arsenal in a sea of Manchester United fans, and cooked a famous Sunday pot of achu with yellow soup. In 2023 he got engaged to Linda Neba, and they were planning to marry in December 2025.
Emmanuel died in November 2025, at thirty-three, after a short illness. He leaves his fiancée Linda, his parents Ngwa and Beatrice, his sister Chiara, and the many listeners who miss his morning voice.
“Someone's mother is listening, so say it kindly.”
- Faith
- Christian
- Place of birth
- Bamenda, North-West Region
- Resting place
- Family compound, Mankon, Bamenda
- Passed away
- 22 November 2025, Buea
Celebration of Life
Thursday, 4 December 2025 at 08:00 UTC
Add to calendarMemorial fund
Emmanuel Tabe Journalism Scholarship
Fund scholarships for young journalism students at the University of Buea, in memory of Manu and his morning voice.
$1,714.75 raised of $5,000
34%20 recent contributions
- MN
Meera Nair gave $14.25 · 7mo ago
- AB
Achu Brian gave $95 · 8mo ago
- AK
Allan Kiwanuka gave $9.50 · 8mo ago
- AD
Alhaji Sani Danladi gave $4.75 · 8mo ago
- UK
Upendo Kyando gave $47.50 · 8mo ago
Life journey
Secondary schooling
Presbyterian Secondary School, Mankon2004 – 2010 · Bamenda
Captain of the debating club.
Radio Presenter and Producer
CRTV Buea2014 – 2025 · Buea
Hosted the weekday morning show for nine years.
Volunteer Youth Coach
Buea Street Soccer Project2018 – 2025 · Buea
Coached under-twelve football every Saturday.
Engaged to Linda Neba
2023 · Buea
They planned to marry in December 2025.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Family & connections
Emmanuel is survived by
- Linda Neba· Partner
- Ngwa Tabe· Father
- Beatrice Tabe· Mother
- Chiara Tabe· Sister
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Emmanuel.
Knew Emmanuel? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- CT
Sister
My brother used to do the news in a silly voice when I was little, just to make me laugh at breakfast. When he got his real job, the silly voice vanished and a calm one took its place. I like to think he kept the silly voice for me.
- LN
Fiancée
He proposed with a single card slipped under my pillow: 'Will you be my morning?' I said yes before I finished reading. I will keep the card and the plans, and I will keep telling people about the weather he promised me. Thank you, Manu, for every morning.
- AB
University friend, now in Houston
We shared a room in Molyko for three years and a single working fan. Manu would read the news aloud to me every night, practising for a career that had not yet begun. I thought it was a bit much. Turns out it was the future. I miss him terribly.
- DC
Lecturer, University of Buea
He was the student who asked politely whether the question could be harder. I taught him interviewing technique in 2012, and I borrowed it back from him in 2022 when I was a guest on his programme. He made my nerves disappear in thirty seconds. A rare broadcaster.
- ME
Listener and market trader, Buea
I sell fish at Mile 17. Every morning I turned on the radio for Manu. Last year he read my son's birthday greeting on air. My son cried. I cried. We all cried a little this week too, because the morning is quieter now.
- NW
Producer, CRTV Buea
Manu arrived at five every morning with two cups of tea, one for himself and one for the security guard. He was never late and never once complained about the generator. The studio will stay dark for a while, and then we will switch the lights on and keep going, as he would have done.
