Colonel Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, President of the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee, has died, leaving behind a silence in African sport that will not easily be filled.
The Cameroon Volleyball Federation, FECAVOLLEY, was among the first to respond publicly, issuing a press release from Yaoundé on 13 May 2026 that spoke of deep sorrow.
Kalkaba Malboum was one of those rare figures who managed to operate with equal credibility at every level, from the grassroots politics of national sports governance to the highest rooms of international sport. He served as President of the CNOSC and held significant influence within the international Olympic movement, representing Cameroon in forums where African nations have historically had to fight hard to be heard. By most accounts, he fought well.
He believed in the Olympic ideal not as a slogan but as a working principle, and he spent decades trying to make it mean something concrete for Cameroonian athletes.
FECAVOLLEY’s statement described him as “a great servant of the Olympic ideal, a tireless advocate for the development of sport, and an ambassador for Cameroon in the highest international sporting bodies”. They called his legacy that of “a visionary, unifying, and principled man”. Those are large words, but in this case, they seem honestly earned.
The federation extended its condolences to his family, to the CNOSC, and to the national and international sporting community.
Colonel Kalkaba Malboum leaves behind institutions he helped to shape, athletes whose careers were quietly supported by decisions he made at the right moment, and a standard of public service in sport that those who come after him will have to work hard to meet.
May his soul rest in peace.
