Biya’s Long Absence Raises Fresh Questions Over Cameroon Leadership

Cameroon President Paul Biya’s prolonged absence from the country has renewed questions about his health and governance, as the 93-year-old leader remains in office after more than four decades in power.

According to a report by CNN, Biya left Cameroon on June 7 for what his office described as a “brief private stay in Europe”, but has remained abroad for about two months, making it his longest uninterrupted absence from the Central African country in years.

Last week, government spokesman René Emmanuel Sadi told French radio RFI that Biya was in Geneva, Switzerland, and was not hospitalised, but provided no further details about the president’s whereabouts.

Biya is Cameroon’s second president since independence in 1960 and one of the world’s longest-serving leaders. He first came to power in 1982 after serving as prime minister under Cameroon’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, and subsequently won elections after the country adopted multiparty politics.

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His latest absence has revived longstanding speculation about his health. Biya has frequently spent extended periods abroad, while his government has repeatedly rejected reports that he was seriously ill or had died. In 2024, the government went as far as banning media discussions about his health, describing the matter as a national security issue.

For millions of Cameroonians, Biya’s longevity in office has meant that he is the only president they have ever known.

Bime’s children belong to that generation. His eldest is 32, while his youngest is 18.

Abit Riassai Acha, a 26-year-old doctoral student and community youth leader at the University of Yaoundé II, also grew up under Biya’s presidency.

“Growing up, President Biya was the only president I knew, so his presidency has been part of my entire experience of Cameroon,” Acha said.

Acha voted for the first time in the 2025 presidential election, supporting opposition candidate Samuel Hiram Iyodi, who was 38 at the time.

After more than four decades under Biya, Acha said Cameroonians have become accustomed to the president’s prolonged absences but argued that this should not prevent them from questioning how the country is governed.

“Because this has happened repeatedly over the years, many Cameroonians have become used to it,” Acha said. “But becoming accustomed to something does not necessarily mean that people should stop asking questions about how the country is being governed.”

Iyodi, who finished eighth in the 2025 election, has called for parliament to ask Cameroon’s Constitutional Council to determine whether Biya’s prolonged absence could amount to a vacancy in the presidency. Such an effort, however, faces significant political obstacles given the dominance of Biya’s ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement.

Despite being outside the country, Biya has continued to exercise presidential authority. Earlier this month, he approved a major military reshuffle, demonstrating that key decisions continue to be made from abroad.

Government officials have also sought to reassure citizens that there is no leadership vacuum.

Government spokesman Sadi told RFI that “President Paul Biya is alive” and “will soon return.”

Bime remembers a very different Biya from the one now associated with four decades in power.

He first became familiar with Biya’s name in the 1970s, when Biya was serving as secretary-general of the presidency under Ahidjo. When Ahidjo resigned in 1982, Biya assumed the presidency.

When Biya appeared on the ballot two years later, Bime said he represented a new beginning for Cameroonians.

Bime recalled seeing Biya as a “representation of hope”.

“We believed he was young and dynamic – handsome too. He meant so much to Cameroonians.”

That optimism has faded among many critics who argue that Biya’s lengthy tenure has failed to deliver sufficient improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens.

Political analyst Collins Molua Ikome, a Cameroonian based in Germany, said his visit to the country in April exposed some of the challenges facing the population.

“Roads in Cameroon are extremely bad. I even witnessed a fatal accident,” he told CNN.

Ikome also cited regular electricity shortages, corruption and limited employment opportunities for young people.

Wilson Tamfuh, a professor of public and international law at the University of Dschang, said Cameroon has institutions capable of keeping the government functioning when the president delegates authority.

According to him, responsibilities can be handled by the prime minister, the secretary-general at the presidency and other ministers.

But Tamfuh said the more important issue was whether the government was addressing the country’s longstanding problems.

“People want the Anglophone crisis resolved, standards of living ameliorated, more good roads, fewer people on the streets with degrees, and more,” he told CNN.

The Anglophone crisis has continued for years, with separatists in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions fighting government forces in a conflict that has caused deaths, displacement and disruption.

Cameroon also faces security threats from Boko Haram militants in the northern part of the country, alongside economic difficulties and growing frustration among young people.

Healthcare remains another major concern.

Ikome said many Cameroonians struggle to access quality medical care, while Biya has been able to seek treatment abroad.

“Life expectancy in the country is below 70 years. However, Biya has far outlived that due to access to medical healthcare abroad, which the ordinary Cameroonian cannot access due to poverty,” Ikome said.

The disparity between political elites and ordinary citizens is not unique to Cameroon, as African political leaders have often been criticised for seeking medical treatment and maintaining residences abroad while public services at home remain inadequate.

For Bime, Biya’s continued rule has made the question of political succession deeply personal.

After waiting decades for a change of leadership, he wonders whether he will live long enough to see another person occupy the presidency.

“Anytime they have a cold, they run overseas and are taken care of, but the other Cameroonians are dying because of lack of care,” he said.