President Paul Biya of Cameroon reached a significant milestone on Thursday, marking two full months since he was last inside his country's borders. This extended period abroad has triggered growing criticism and public anxiety regarding the health of the 93-year-old leader and the potential for a power vacuum in the Central African nation.
Biya, who is the world’s oldest president, has been in power since 1982. He departed Cameroon on June 7 for what his office officially described as a brief private stay in Europe. This trip has since become one of his longest overseas absences. The president frequently spends significant time in European countries, including Switzerland and France, often leaving the day-to-day governance of the country to key family members and party officials.
Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who was the presidential runner-up in the November election and a former ally of Biya, stated that there is a widespread belief in Cameroon that the president is not well. From his exile in The Gambia, Tchiroma remarked that the prolonged stay in Switzerland only serves to aggravate doubts about the president’s legitimacy and his attempts to retain power.
The current situation has led critics to describe the country as being run on auto-pilot, particularly because Cameroon lacks a vice president—an appointment that remains under Biya’s exclusive control. Wilson Tamfuh, a professor of Public and International Law at the University of Dschang, compared the state of the nation to a body that is seriously sick. He noted that while Biya may appear strong for his age, his health challenges are clearly affecting his leadership, and recent cabinet reshuffles have failed to provide fresh momentum, often merely recycling the same officials.
The political climate remains strained following Biya’s eighth term victory in a widely disputed November election. Protests against his reelection resulted in at least four deaths. Furthermore, the country faces ongoing instability, including armed insurgencies from Boko Haram in the north and separatists in the west, alongside a stagnant economy that has disillusioned the youth population. More than 70% of Cameroon’s nearly 30 million people are under the age of 35.
On Monday, in a move that drew attention, Biya reshuffled the top military leadership, replacing commanders of four of the country’s five joint military regions. While no official reason was provided for the changes, it was noted that one commander had retired and another had died. Biya, who assumed office following the resignation of Ahmadou Ahidjo, oversaw a 2008 constitutional amendment that abolished term limits. If he completes his current term, he will be nearly 100 years old.
Cabinet reshuffles over the past 15 years have amounted to little more than recycling the same people from one ministry to another,” Tamfuh said.Biya's 2025 reelection sparked widespread protests that left at least four people dead, signaling significant tensions between the mostly young population and its aging leader
Biya came to power following the resignation of Cameroon’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, who served from 1960 to 1982.
