Biya's stay abroad revives debate over Cameroon's government

The lengthy absence of Cameroon's President Paul Biya, who has been in Switzerland since early June, has renewed debate over government inaction and the country's political future.

As of Saturday, Biya had been away from Cameroon for 48 days. The 93-year-old president has been in power for more than 40 years and is described in the source as the world's oldest head of state. An official statement said he left on June 7 for a “short, private stay in Europe” with his wife, Chantal Biya.

Biya has made frequent trips to Geneva over the years. His absences have led to speculation and rumours about his health, which the government has sometimes denied. Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi issued a statement on June 18 denying press reports that Biya had been hospitalised in a Geneva clinic.

Opposition figures say the absence points to a problem at the top of government. Mamadou Mota, vice-president of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, wrote on Facebook on Friday that Biya's absence showed a “glaring institutional vacuum”. Earlier this month, Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, president of the Cameroon Democratic Union, called for an impartial procedure to determine whether the head of state was temporarily or permanently incapacitated.

Jacques Fame Ndongo, a senior official in the ruling party and minister of higher education, rejected accusations of a power vacuum on Tuesday. He said that wherever Biya was, the president was carefully following files submitted to him by aides.

The opposition Social Democratic Front said Friday that the country was “on autopilot”. Allegations of a power vacuum have arisen before, including in late 2024, when Biya spent about 50 days outside the country.

Biya's repeated absences over more than 20 years have added to frustration among many Cameroonians over government inaction. Viviane Ondoua Biwole, a professor of public management at the University of Yaounde, told AFP that people were tired of waiting. She said the current government had been in place for eight years, which she described as a record, and that many people expected renewal after an election.

Biya's re-election to an eighth term in October sparked demonstrations that were violently repressed. The government has acknowledged “several dozen” deaths but has not given an exact toll. The opposition challenged the election results, and Western embassies responded with reserve.

In a December 31 address to the nation, Biya promised to form a new government team “in the coming days”. Seven months later, that has not happened. Municipal and legislative elections have also been postponed several times, indefinitely extending the terms of sitting officials.

Authorities have made some institutional changes. The presidents of both chambers of parliament were replaced in March, and a constitutional reform in May created a vice-presidential post. No vice-president has been appointed.

The lack of a vice-president has helped fuel speculation. In June, fake documents copying a presidential decree were delivered to a public radio station in the capital, claiming that a vice-president had been appointed. Journalists determined the documents were fake and did not broadcast them as fact.

The incident added to speculation about the period after Biya. Ondoua Biwole said there was a more or less visible crisis at the highest levels of government among those close to the president. Political scientist Stephane Akoa told AFP that leaks increasingly mentioned infighting between factions in Biya's inner circle.

Akoa said First Lady Chantal Biya was becoming increasingly present in state affairs, with her name often mentioned in decisions and appointments. Without a vice-president, Senate President Aboubakary Abdoulaye is next in line to lead if there is a power vacuum, until a presidential election can be organised.