Cameroon's President Biya Home After 73-Day Absence, Amid Health Speculation

Cameroon's President Biya Home After 73-Day Absence, Amid Health Speculation

Cameroon's President Paul Biya has returned to the country after spending 73 days abroad, ending an unusually long absence that has intensified speculation around the 93-year-old's health and raised questions over Cameroon's political future.

Biya’s hand: a source of glory and shame

President Paul Biya’s return to Cameroon after more than two months abroad should have been a moment of reassurance. Instead, it has once again placed the question of presidential visibility at the centre of public debate. At Yaoundé-Nsimalen International Airport, Cameroonians were not given the familiar image of a president stepping out before the cameras, greeting the nation and demonstrating that he was firmly in command. Television images i…

President Paul Biya returns Cameroon after long 10 weeks absence

Cameroon: President Paul Biya has finally returned home after being disappeared for over 10 weeks abroad. The 93-year-old leader arrived in Yaoundé from Geneva, Switzerland in a chartered flight. His unusual long absence had raised questions about his health and existence.  Biya is the world’s oldest head-of-state who has ruled Cameroon since 1982. He was welcomed warmly by his supporters as he returned to the presidential palace.  Reportedly, P…

Opposition Attacks Biya’s ‘Culture Of Silence’

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya’s prolonged absence has exposed what opposition politician Asong Khumbah described as a long-standing “culture of silence” and a governance system increasingly detached from the public. Speaking to News Central after Biya returned to Yaoundé on Thursday following 74 days abroad, Khumbah accused the 93-year-old president of running the country from a distance and said his prolonged absence showed the weakness of Cam…