Nation gathers at Bouka Cemetery for a final salute
Brazzaville—Two weeks after the passing of retired lieutenant-colonel Ernest Lekana, affectionately nicknamed “La Graine”, the tree-lined alleys of Bouka Cemetery filled with the muted cadence of military drums. Under a mild December sun the national flag draped his casket, while a firing party executed the traditional volleys in presence of senior officers and civilian authorities. At the head of the delegation stood Major-General Guy-Blanchard Okoï, Chief of the General Staff of the Congolese Armed Forces, who presided over the ceremony on behalf of the Republic. In a brief address he underlined that the deceased, appointed in 2024 as president of the National Office for Veterans and War Victims (ONAC-VG), “embodied the continuity of the esprit de corps across generations”.
The state tribute had begun earlier at the Veterans’ Home in Bacongo, headquarters of ONAC-VG, where the public flowed past the bier throughout the morning. A condolence book rapidly filled with signatures from diplomatic missions, members of parliament and civil-society organisations, testifying to the breadth of a network patiently woven during more than six decades of public service.
AET fraternity lends solemnity to the vigil
If the military protocol offered the external frame, the spiritual heart of the farewell beat at the granite stele dedicated to the Anciens Enfants de Troupe (AET) in the downtown barracks. There, on 3 December, dozens of former cadets formed a line according to seniority, a rite that recalls French colonial traditions yet has been reappropriated by successive Congolese promotions. The oldest present, Félix Mouzabakani—matricule 47, class of ‘Sergent Malamine’ 1948-1952—leaned on his cane while murmuring the school motto. For many observers the image captured a rare generational tableau: from the veterans of the early 1950s to the “Gérard Neddy Ndounga” cohort of the 1980s, all converged around the same coffin.
At the centre of the assembly, Colonel Willy Lekana, son of the deceased and himself an AET alumnus, stood in silent salute. Nearby, Rémy Ayayos Ikounga, president of the African Federation of AET Associations, evoked “the patient gardener who sowed cohesion among us long before we understood its value”. His metaphor echoed the nickname “La Graine” that Ernest Lekana received in cadet years for his habit of cultivating small plots behind the dormitory.
From colonial classroom to national service
Born in 1939 in Létoumbou, district of Ewo in today’s Cuvette-Ouest, Ernest Lekana entered the then École indigène d’enfants de troupe of AEF-Cameroon in 1953 after distinguished primary studies in Fort-Rousset. Archived wp-signup.phps attribute him matricule 156 and place him in the ‘Serge Krochant’ cohort alongside future heads of state Marien Ngouabi and Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango. Those teenage years coincided with the waning of French Equatorial Africa, instilling in the young cadets an acute sense of transition.
Upon graduating on 1 July 1957 he was dispatched to the Instruction Centre of Bouar in Oubangui-Chari, where he earned Technical Aptitude Certificate No. 2. Rapid promotions followed: sergeant in 1958, then a secondment to the 65th Marine Infantry Regiment in Algeria in early 1959. His participation in the Bastille Day parade in Paris that same year placed a Congolese flag among the Tricolours—a subtle but symbolic pre-independence appearance noted by contemporary newspapers. Returning to Brazzaville in August 1961, the young non-commissioned officer embraced the intricate path of nation-building that independence demanded.
Climbing the ranks and shaping institutions
Ernest Lekana’s record, reconstructed from defence archives and oral testimonies collected during the vigil, reveals a steady ascent: sous-lieutenant in 1975, lieutenant in 1977, captain in 1981, commanding officer in 1986 and finally lieutenant-colonel in 1991. Colleagues insist that the timeline reflects the meritocratic expectations of the era rather than patronage. “He passed every staff course with the quiet discipline of a craftsman,” recalls Serge Eugène Ghoma Boubanga, deputy secretary-general of the AET association.
Beyond command postings, Lekana embraced the gendarmerie in 1953 at a time when Congo was still experimenting with hybrid security models. His early course at the National Gendarmerie School made him one of the founding cadres of that institution. Later, detached to several security-sector reform committees, he acquired a reputation for bridging the doctrinal gap between army, gendarmerie and police—an asset that likely weighed in the presidential decree naming him head of ONAC-VG in 2024.
Veterans’ advocate until the final hour
As director of ONAC-VG, Lekana channelled his experience toward pragmatic objectives: digitising pension files, accelerating medical referrals for wounded ex-servicemen and drafting a handbook on psychosocial support for war-affected families. According to internal reports consulted for this article, the processing time for disability claims fell by nearly a third during his tenure, an indicator welcomed by civil-society monitors.
The office also became a venue for inter-generational dialogue, hosting regular seminars where secondary-school pupils met decorated veterans of the Liberation War. In his last public speech on 11 November 2025, during Armistice Day commemorations, Lekana urged the youth “to study history not as nostalgia but as a toolbox for responsibility”. Observers note that his consistent refusal to politicise veterans’ benefits earned him respect across party lines, a rare consensus in the polarised arena of memory politics.
Lessons of patience and resilience for a new era
At the close of the funeral service Serge Eugène Ghoma Boubanga summarised the collective sentiment: “His life teaches us that patience and resilience are not passive virtues but active forces guiding the soldier and the citizen alike.” Behind the rhetoric lies a more concrete message. In a country where demographic pressure propels thousands of youths toward the armed forces each year, the career of Ernest Lekana stands as an illustration of institutional loyalty paired with adaptability.
As the sun dipped behind the tall eucalyptus trees of Bouka, a silence settled over the assembled ranks. Then, in unison, the AET alumni sang their traditional hymn, a low minor-key chant travelling across decades. With that final refrain the last cadet of the 1953 cohort took his place in the pantheon of national memory, leaving an indelible footprint on the evolving story of Congo-Brazzaville.