Zacharias Tanee Fomum was born on June 20, 1945, to Papa Solomon Fomum Tanee and Mama Rebecca Angum. Papa Solomon was a born-again Presbyterian minister, and his wife led the church’s women’s group and choir. Their family was small, with an older brother and sister. After Zacharias arrived in 1945, the family continued to grow: a younger sister and two younger brothers were born between 1950 and 1960.



The family thus grew to six children, including four boys and two girls. Zacharias Tanee Fomum was born in Wumnembug to parents from Atuakuh, Effah, Batibo, in the North-West region of Cameroon.



Zach benefited from an unusual environment for the first four years of his elementary school career. The young man learned from his father that he had to be at the top of the class. He used his pencil for four years, between the ages of six and ten. When his pencil became so short that he could no longer write with it, he gave it to his father, who gave him a new pencil. From the age of six, he woke up every morning at 3.30 a.m. to heat up water for his father to bathe in. At almost seven, and four months late because school was closed, he enrolled in school. He was placed in first grade at Wumnembug Presbyterian Primary School.



At the end of that first elementary school term, he came out fifth, despite going to school nearly four months late. On his return, his father congratulated and encouraged him with a school bag. At the end of the school year, he was first.



Between the ages of six and fourteen, he sold peanuts for his mother. He didn’t eat a grain during the sale. He also sold doughnuts.



His father and mother were radical disciplinarians. His father, Solomon Fomum Tanee, oversaw more than eighty Presbyterian congregations scattered throughout the district.

Renowned university professor of organic chemistry, has developed a research hypothesis and carried out innovative scientific research. His scientific work on the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds, the isolation and structural determination of natural secondary metabolites from tropical medicinal plants has produced remarkable results, earning him the high academic distinction of Doctor of Science (D.Sc) from Durham University in Great Britain. He has established himself as the world’s leading authority on the Erythrina plant (a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, containing some 130 species).



He graduated from Fourah Bay College at the University of Sierra Leone in 1969 with a B.A. with “Excellent” honors. Following his graduation, Professor Stephen R. Landor (DSc), after an analysis of his academic results, accepted his application for the doctoral cycle and decided to supervise him. His research work in organic chemistry led to a Doctorate (Ph.D.), awarded by the University of Makéré (Kampala, Uganda) in 1973.



En 2005, ses publications scientifiques ont été évalués par l’université de Durham en Grande Bretagne, et reconnus comme procédant d’une recherche scientifique de haute distinction, pour laquelle il lui a été décerné le D.Sc. (Doctor of Science). Il s’agit du premier camerounais à obtenir cette distinction qui récompense à une personne qui a apporté une contribution pionnière, exceptionnelle et splendide dans son domaine d’études.



In 1975, he became Assistant Professor at the University of Yaoundé I. As Professor of Organic Chemistry, he supervised or co-supervised 100 Master’s theses and Doctoral dissertations. He is co-author of over 155 publications in internationally renowned scientific journals. He has carried the torch of academic excellence high, ranking the Chemistry Department second among African scientific research centers with the most publications in international scientific journals in 2004.



Among the students he has supervised are;

– Professor Augustin NKENGFACK, Head of the Department of Organic Chemistry at the University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon

– Professor George Mpango, Head of the Department of Organic Chemistry at the University of Makéré, Uganda

Professor Zacharias Tanee Fomum saw scientific research as an act of obedience to God’s command to “subdue the earth” (Genesis 1:28). He also proclaimed that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of Science, “for in him all things were created…” (Colossians 1:16). He dedicated his D.Sc. thesis and all his work to the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and for whom all things were created. He made the Lord Jesus the Director of his research laboratory, himself being the Assistant Director. He attributes his scientific success to the revelatory guidance of the Lord Jesus.



With the primary aim of reducing poverty and human suffering, Professor Fomum sought to apply his global research findings in the agro-pastoral, pharmaceutical, medical and biomedical fields. He founded World Conquest Science, a research center in collaboration with various universities, with the aim of advancing research in the fields of natural plant chemistry and establishing a community of Christian scientists committed to bringing the name of Jesus Christ to the forefront of science for the glory of God.



Professor Fomum has read over 1,300 books on the Christian faith and has written over 150 himself to promote the Gospel of Christ. Four million copies of his books are in circulation in eleven languages. Sixteen million copies of the evangelical tracts he has written are in circulation in 17 languages.