Cameroon officials have insisted that President Paul Biya is in ‘excellent’ health after his prolonged absence from public view led to widespread speculation about the 91-year-old leader’s condition. Biya has not been seen since September 8, when he attended a China-Africa forum in Beijing, missing several high-profile events, including the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Amid mounting concern, a statement from Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, head of the president’s civil cabinet, dismissed rumours about Biya’s health and condemned those speculating about his ‘eventual death’ as ‘mischievous individuals.’ The government reiterated that Biya is continuing his official duties from Geneva, where he has remained since his trip to China.
Calls from opposition parties and civil society groups for transparency over Biya’s health and whereabouts have been growing. Critics have long pointed to the president’s frequent absences from Cameroon, particularly his stays in Switzerland, as a cause for concern. In 2018, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported that since taking office in 1982, Biya had spent over four-and-a-half years on foreign trips, with the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva noted as his preferred residence.
In a separate statement, government spokesperson René Sadi stated that Biya would return to Cameroon ‘in the next few days,’ dismissing reports of his ill health as ‘pure fantasy.’
Biya, in power for 42 years, is Africa’s second-longest serving leader. While his tenure has seen Cameroon transition from a one-party state to multi-party politics, his rule has been marked by endemic corruption, and democratic gains have been rolled back. In 2008, the government abolished presidential term limits, allowing Biya to continue his lengthy rule.
Cameroon is also currently facing a secessionist conflict in the west, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives.
