President Paul Biya, at 93 years old, holds the distinction of being the world’s longest-serving head of state, having led Cameroon since 1982. He departed Cameroonian soil 48 days ago, on June 7, for what an official communiqué described as a “short private stay in Europe,” accompanied by First Lady Chantal Biya.
The health of President Biya, who frequently sojourns in Geneva, has consistently been a subject of widespread rumors, often met with official denials from the government.
In response to media reports, Communication Minister René Emmanuel Sadi issued a statement on June 18, refuting claims that the Cameroonian leader had been hospitalized in a Geneva clinic.
For Cameroon’s opposition, the president’s prolonged absence starkly reveals a “glaring institutional void,” as articulated by Mamadou Mota, Vice-President of the Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC), in a social media post on Friday.
“governance on autopilot”
Mid-July, Patricia Tomaïno Ndam Njoya, President of the Democratic Union of Cameroon (UDC), urged the government to establish “an impartial procedure for confirming a temporary or definitive impediment” of the head of state.
However, James Fame Ndongo, a senior figure in the presidential party and Minister of Higher Education, dismissed accusations of a power vacuum on Tuesday. He asserted that “wherever he is, the head of state meticulously monitors the files submitted to him by… his collaborators.”
Debates surrounding a potential power vacancy in Cameroon are not new. The most recent instance occurred in late 2024, when President Biya spent approximately 50 days outside the country.
Another opposition faction, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), dryly observed on Friday that the nation was operating “on autopilot.”
These recurrent absences, spanning over two decades, continue to fuel widespread frustration among many Cameroonians regarding the perceived inertia within the government. Viviane Ondoua Biwolé, a professor of public management at the University of Yaoundé, noted that “people are already exhausted from waiting.”
She elaborated, stating, “Firstly, because the current government has been in place for eight years, which is a record. Secondly, because we are emerging from an election with very mixed results. Many believe that after an election, it’s time for renewal.”
President Biya’s re-election to an eighth term in October 2025 ignited protests that were violently suppressed, with the government acknowledging “several dozens” of fatalities without providing an exact count.
The election outcomes, disputed by the opposition, also prompted a degree of reservation from Western diplomatic missions.
Two months later, in his December 31 address to the Nation, President Biya pledged to form a new governmental team “in the coming days.”
Yet, seven months have passed, and the new government he announced has still not been constituted. This delay is compounded by multiple postponements of municipal and legislative elections, indefinitely extending the terms of incumbent officials.
the post-biya era
Despite these issues, the Cameroonian administration recently initiated some institutional changes. This included replacing the presidents of both parliamentary chambers in March, followed by the creation of a vice-president position through a constitutional reform in early May.
However, nearly three months after the reform, no vice-president has been appointed. This prolonged anticipation has inevitably fueled various speculations.
In June, an individual appeared at the public radio headquarters in Yaoundé, attempting to present a document purported to be a presidential decree appointing the Vice-President of the Republic.
While the counterfeit document bore presidential seals and a signature attributed to President Biya, vigilant journalists recognized it as a fabrication and did not broadcast it, though it still contributed to the ongoing rumors.
These institutional maneuvers only intensify speculation about the post-Biya era and appear to accelerate the race for his succession, which remains shrouded in uncertainty.
“There is, more or less visibly, a crisis at the top of the state among the president’s inner circle,” asserted Ms. Ondoua Biwolé.
Political scientist Stéphane Akoa corroborated this, stating, “Increasingly, indiscretions point to quarrels among the different clans within his entourage.”
Behind one of these “clans” looms the influence of Chantal Biya, the First Lady, who is “increasingly present in state affairs,” with “her name often cited in decision-making and top-level appointments,” observed Mr. Akoa.
Until a vice-president is named, the responsibility falls to the President of the Senate, Aboubakary Abdoulaye, to assume leadership in the event of a power vacancy, pending the organization of a presidential election.