Weekend at Biya's
What is the status of Cameroon's president Paul Biya?
Age is just a number. A phrase associated with creepy guys justifying their dating range and aging statesmen that refuse to step down from office. Discourse around the latter has increased as of late amid debate over Biden and Trump ahead of the US November polls. However, Biden and Trump are in the D leagues compared to Africa’s leaders, especially Cameroon’s president Paul Biya. At 91-years young, Biya’s age has long been a point of interest. But in recent months, Biya could be likened to Schrödinger's cat - is he alive or dead (or both?).
During the weekend of 05 October, rumours swirled on social regarding the status of Biya, who has been absent from public eye since his attendance at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in early September. Reports even emerged that Biya was dying at a hospital in Paris, where he was set to attend a Francophone conference but did not pitch. The credibility of these reports were bolstered by gatherings at the touted facility by Cameroonians wanting answers - or perhaps merely hoping for Biya’s demise (he is not very popular).
For several days, there was broad consensus that Biya could well be dead; however, the Cameroonian government dispelled such rumours on 08 October, claiming Biya was “in good health“ and merely vacationing in Switzerland - the statesman’s favourite holiday destination as of late. Turns out the claims of his death were generated by an AI news outlet which then spread like wild fire among our favourite fake Pan-African Twitter accounts and then reported within mainstream media.
Still, Biya has not been seen since early September and good health is doing some heavy lifting in the government’s statement. While the president is probably not dead yet, his vacation in Switzerland is more likely a doctors’ stay - which have become more frequent than visits to the UK by Nigerian politicians. Recent video appearances suggest that the statesman is being propped up on ritalin and steroids to merely function. In the below video from 2022, Biya is being held up by aids and has no clue he is speaking at the US Africa Summit.
For all intents and purposes, Biya might as well be dead and his office is being run by an inner circle of predators - including his wife Chantel and minister of state, Ferdinand Ngho Ngho - who are enjoying that state cake on the president’s behalf.
Africa’s very own variation of Weekend at Bernie’s is expected to continue until elections are held in 2025. Like the last eight Fast and the Furious movies, no one has asked for it - especially the people of Cameroon - but the ruling RDPC party is adamant to once again put Biya forward. This is despite what are obvious back door discussions of a possible successor that all stakeholders are still denying.
Biya’s son Fanck is currently being touted as the heir apparent, having been promoted to various government positions in recent years after a lucrative career as a businessman - the success of which obviously had nothing to do with Biya being president. But, Fanck is probably not sleeping well at night, as vultures from all corners of the RDPC and military are circling Biya like a dying a zebra. Anglophone separatists in Cameroon’s restive English speaking regions are also likely just waiting in bated breath for Biya’s death to try relaunch their otherwise dwindling campaign for independence.
When the continent’s oldest statesman does finally kick the bucket - whether before or after winning the 2025 elections - Cameroon’s fragile system could very well break at the seams. It remains unclear whether this will mean a military coup, civil unrest, upswing in separatist violence, a simple fracturing of the RDPC, or Chantel Biya running out of hairspray.
Like Schrödinger's cat, we will only know once that box is opened.