Shock in Brazzaville after sudden death
News of the sudden passing of Police Sergeant-Chef Armand Jean-Blaise Nkeletela spread through Brazzaville early Thursday, bringing a wave of sorrow from Mfilou to the city centre. His family confirmed the death occurred on Wednesday 10 December 2025 in the capital.
The Nkembi-Banzia, Massengo and Nkeoua grandchildren joined children Oumba, Louhou, Miambanzila, Nkeletela and Binsangou to release a brief notice, stating they had “the deepest pain” in informing relatives, friends and acquaintances of their brother’s unexpected departure.
A life of service in uniform
Holding the rank of Sergeant-Chef, a mid-level non-commissioned officer within the Congolese Police Nationale, Armand Jean-Blaise served at ground level, coordinating patrols, mentoring younger recruits and easing daily neighbourhood tensions that rarely make national headlines.
Colleagues contacted on Thursday described him as “methodical, calm and patient”, qualities often demanded in Brazzaville’s expanding suburbs where traffic bottlenecks and market disputes can escalate quickly.
Within the Police Nationale hierarchy, the Sergeant-Chef grade sits between Sergeant and Adjudant, often entrusted with station routines such as shift rosters, equipment logs and first contact with complainants at a commissariat counter.
Community observers note that these middle ranks act as an essential bridge, translating senior directives into street-level practice while relaying residents’ concerns back up the chain of command.
In recent months, Brazzaville’s western districts have experienced heavier evening traffic and denser informal trade; officers who know every shortcut and stallholder by name, colleagues say, prevent small frictions from snowballing into confrontations.
Vigil at rue Bibimbou unites family
The mourning vigil has been set at the family home, number 46, rue Bibimbou, Mfilou. Residents locate it by the Ma Martine bus stop, a few steps from Ngamaba parish of the Église Évangélique du Congo, between Mouhoumi and the bustling Ngambio market roundabouts.
In keeping with local custom, neighbours have already begun delivering chairs, water cans, torches and vats of steaming foufou to ensure visitors can sit, talk and pray through the warm December nights.
During the evening vigils, family members recite short prayers and hymns, offering comfort to visitors who sign a condolence book laid near a framed portrait of the late officer.
Messages arriving from abroad include notes of solidarity from Congolese diasporas who learned about the death through social media reposts of the family communiqué.
For citizens planning to attend the vigil, the family advises arriving before nightfall to secure parking near the Ma Martine stop, carrying a small hand fan against the humid season and writing personal memories on cards that will be placed inside the condolence album.
Saturday farewell toward Les Élus du Ciel
The body will remain at the municipal morgue of the Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire until Saturday 27 December, when family members plan a final viewing, a brief prayer and the official release of the coffin for burial.
From the CHU, the convoy is scheduled to return to rue Bibimbou for collective meditation, then proceed north to the cemetery named Les Élus du Ciel in Mabaya, a site whose white-painted archway is visible from the national road.
At the hillside necropolis, relatives intend to sing, read Psalm 23 and frame the burial with the phrase repeated in their communiqué: “May the light of heaven shine without fading.”
Scheduling the funeral two weeks after death allows extended family members working in Pointe-Noire, Ouesso or abroad to secure leave and return to the capital, a practical delay commonly accepted in urban Congolese households during the Christmas season.
Those unable to travel can phone designated relatives whose numbers circulate privately; messages will be read aloud during the final family circle, a tradition meant to ensure that every voice, near or far, accompanies the deceased toward what relatives call his “eternal shift change”.
Police solidarity and public homage
For many in uniform, the ceremony also falls after most year-end security deployments, giving police colleagues room to attend without straining patrol schedules.
Senior officers interviewed expressed confidence that a colour guard will be present, though family members have emphasised they want a modest, faith-focused farewell rather than an elaborate parade.
Under the Police Nationale’s internal protocol, a Sergeant-Chef may receive three ceremonial volleys and the folding of the national flag, yet final approval rests with superiors who weigh operational priorities.
The commune of Mfilou has known difficult moments in recent years, but officers say Nkeletela consistently preferred dialogue over force, recalling how he once calmed a dispute outside Ngambio market simply by listening to both sides.
Neighbours contacted Thursday echoed that memory, portraying him as the first to greet elders in Lingala each morning and the last to leave a weekend clean-up drive.
As Saturday approaches, organisers politely remind sympathisers to respect sanitary guidelines, bring their own face masks if necessary and favour discreet colours, underscoring the family’s wish for a calm, dignified farewell.
