The prolonged absence of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, who has remained in Switzerland since early June, has renewed concerns about an alleged leadership vacuum and growing uncertainty over the country’s political future.
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By Saturday, the 93-year-old president, who has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades and is regarded as the world’s oldest serving head of state, would have spent 48 days outside the country.
An official statement announced that Biya left Cameroon on June 7 with his wife, Chantal Biya, for what was described as a “short, private stay in Europe.”
Biya has made frequent trips to Geneva over the years, repeatedly triggering speculation about his health and capacity to govern. The Cameroonian government has often rejected such reports.
Following renewed media reports about the president’s condition, Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi issued a statement on June 18 denying claims that Biya had been admitted to a clinic in Geneva.
Despite the denial, opposition parties said the president’s continued absence reflected a growing leadership crisis.
Vice-President of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Mamadou Mota, described the situation as evidence of a “glaring institutional vacuum.”
Earlier in July, the President of the Cameroon Democratic Union, Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, called on the government to establish an impartial procedure for determining whether the head of state was temporarily or permanently incapable of carrying out his responsibilities.
However, Higher Education Minister and senior ruling-party official Jacques Fame Ndongo dismissed claims of a power vacuum, insisting that Biya continued to perform his duties from abroad.
“Wherever he is, the head of state is meticulously following the files submitted to him by his aides,” Ndongo said.
Concerns over Biya’s prolonged absence are not new. In late 2024, the president spent about 50 days outside Cameroon, also prompting widespread speculation about his health and the functioning of government.
The opposition Social Democratic Front declared on Friday that Cameroon was currently “on autopilot,” arguing that the president’s repeated absences over the past two decades had worsened public frustration over government inactivity.
Professor of Public Management at the University of Yaounde, Viviane Ondoua Biwole, said many Cameroonians were exhausted from waiting for meaningful change.
“People are worn out from waiting,” she said.
According to her, the current government has remained in place for eight years, which she described as a record, while the country recently emerged from an election whose outcome remained deeply contested.
She said many citizens ordinarily expected the period following an election to bring political renewal and the formation of a new government.
Biya secured an eighth presidential term in October, but the election was followed by demonstrations that were violently suppressed.
The government acknowledged that “several dozen” people were killed during the unrest but did not provide an exact death toll.
Opposition parties challenged the election results, while Western diplomatic missions reportedly reacted to the outcome with reservations.
In his December 31 address to the nation, Biya promised to announce a new government team “in the coming days.”
Seven months later, however, no new government has been formed.
Municipal and legislative elections have also been postponed several times, effectively extending the tenures of serving officials indefinitely.
Cameroonian authorities have nevertheless introduced some institutional changes in recent months.
The presidents of both chambers of parliament were replaced in March, while a constitutional reform adopted in May created the office of vice-president.
However, no one has been appointed to the newly created position.
The absence of a vice-president, coupled with Biya’s prolonged stay abroad, has intensified speculation over who would control the country during a transition from his presidency.
In June, fake documents designed to resemble an official presidential decree were delivered to a public radio station in the capital, falsely claiming that a vice-president had been appointed.
Journalists at the station discovered that the documents were fabricated and did not broadcast the information as authentic.
The incident further fuelled speculation about the post-Biya era and an increasingly uncertain succession contest.
Ondoua Biwole said there appeared to be a crisis at the highest levels of government involving different individuals and groups close to the president.
“There is, more or less visible, a crisis at the highest levels of government between those close to the president,” she said.
Political scientist Stephane Akoa also said reports of internal conflict among factions within Biya’s inner circle had become more frequent.
According to Akoa, First Lady Chantal Biya appeared to be increasingly influential in government affairs, with her name regularly mentioned in connection with appointments and major decisions.
The claims about her influence have not been officially confirmed.
Under Cameroon’s current succession arrangement, Senate President Aboubakary Abdoulaye would be next in line to assume leadership temporarily in the event of a presidential vacancy, pending the conduct of a new election.
However, the continuing absence of an appointed vice-president, Biya’s extended stay in Switzerland and reports of divisions within his inner circle have deepened concerns about political stability and the country’s preparedness for an eventual transition of power.
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