🎬 Missing leaders

POLITICS
Cameroon’s President is MIA

It would appear by now that it wasn’t only the biblical characters who knew the way to eternal life. Despite reports of him being in good health, Cameroonians have been increasingly agitated this week over the disappearance of their 91-year-old president, Paul Biya.

Biya has not been seen in public since leaving Beijing on September 8, after attending the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation. He was noticeably absent from the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly annual meeting in New York and the Francophonie Summit in Paris this weekend.

Signs of fatigue

Sources close to the presidency have cited Biya’s health as the reason for the absence. According to the head of the civil cabinet, Samuel Ayolo, “the president is currently under medical supervision in Switzerland and continues to exercise his duties.” Many Cameroonians however belabour the fact that this might be one trip too many as Biya is reported to have spent the equivalent of four-and-a-half years on overseas medical trips since coming to power 42 years ago.

The man’s influence is waxing. Despite grappling with a secessionist war that has crippled the western part of the country, President Biya is still the frontrunner in next year’s elections. Last year, he obtained a court order to delay legislative elections till 2026, denying opposition parties legislative representation that would swing the balance in their favor.

He’s not the only one. A majority of Cameroon’s institutional leaders spend extended periods overseas for health reasons. In April, both Senate and National Assembly hearings were postponed because most of their members were receiving treatment overseas at the time. -EA.

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