Cameroon: concern grows over President Biya’s 58-day public absence
Concern is mounting in Cameroon over President Paul Biya’s prolonged absence from public view, with the 92-year-old head of state now out of the spotlight for 58 days, according to Africanews. The silence has stirred unease in a country long accustomed to the opacity surrounding its longest-serving leader.
Biya, who took office in 1982, is Africa’s oldest serving head of state. He has been in power for more than four decades, a tenure marked by lengthy stays abroad — particularly in Switzerland — that have repeatedly prompted speculation each time he disappears from the domestic stage for weeks on end.
Despite the unease, some residents have struck a more measured tone. Among them is a man named Mr. Njoya, who told Africanews he was trying to remain reassured and suggested the silence did not pose a major threat to the country. Such responses reflect a familiar pattern in Cameroon, where citizens have grown accustomed to long gaps between official appearances by the president.
Cameroon, a Central African nation of more than 28 million people, returned Biya to office for a fresh seven-year mandate after the 2024 presidential election, which the opposition disputed. The current episode of absence comes against a backdrop of persistent security challenges in the Anglophone regions of the west and along the northern border.
As the days pass without a public sighting or televised address, attention is turning to the presidency for any official communication to clarify the situation.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
- Africanews — Concern mounts in Cameroon over Biya’s prolonged absence
- africanews.com — Concern mounts in Cameroon over Biya’s prolonged absence
