Cameroon’s 93-year-old President has not been seen in public for 54 days—and in Cameroon, openly questioning his health can land you in trouble.
On 7 June, President and First Lady left Cameroon for what officials described as a “brief private stay” in Switzerland. Since then, neither has appeared in public, addressed the nation, or provided any independently verifiable sign of their well-being. It is now the longest unexplained absence of Biya’s more than four decades in power.
Reports from Jeune Afrique claimed the president was receiving treatment at a private clinic in Geneva following a health incident during Cameroon’s National Day celebrations in May. The government dismissed the report as false, insisting he was in Switzerland but not hospitalized. Later, additional reports alleged that close relatives and senior officials had been urgently summoned to Switzerland, though the government has never confirmed those claims.
On 17 July, rumors of the president’s death flooded social media before being debunked as a hoax. Yet the speculation spread rapidly because there was no public appearance or independent evidence to reassure citizens otherwise.
Despite his disappearance from public view, the president’s official social media accounts continue posting messages in his name, including congratulatory notes to foreign leaders—raising even more questions among observers.
What makes the situation even more controversial is that, since 2024, Cameroonian authorities have prohibited media speculation about the president’s health. As a result, citizens risk consequences simply for asking whether the man leading their country is healthy enough to govern.
The political uncertainty is deepened by another constitutional concern. Although Parliament reportedly reintroduced the office of Vice President during recent constitutional reforms, the position has not been filled. If the presidency were to become vacant, succession would fall to the President of the Senate—an office whose long-serving occupant died earlier this year—potentially triggering a constitutional crisis while fresh elections are organized.
Critics argue that this illustrates the danger of concentrating a nation’s political system around one individual. When power revolves around a single leader, uncertainty over that leader’s status can leave an entire country in suspense.
Today, a nation of nearly 30 million people, with a median age of just 19, continues to wait for clear answers about the whereabouts and condition of the only president most of its citizens have ever known.
Can any nation truly thrive when asking about the health of its president becomes a forbidden question?
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Cameroon’s 93-year-old President has not been seen in public for 54 days—and in Cameroon, openly questioning his health can land you in trouble.
