The head of state has given no news of himself after leaving the capital on June 7, 2026. Apart from assurances from the communication secretary of the Central Committee of his party, the Rdpc, it is official silence that answers the people’s questions.
Where is President Paul Biya? How many days is he allowed to spend outside the country? What happened to him abroad? These are questions and many others that Cameroonians have been asking themselves for several weeks. The questions intensify as the days go by. And especially because for the first time in 44 years of presidency, President Paul Biya spends 50 days outside the country on a private trip. His trip between September 2 and October 21, 2024, began with participation in the FOCAC in Beijing, China.
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The ongoing stay, announced as short by the Civil Cabinet at the departure from Yaoundé, becomes the longest private stay of the president in Europe. It fuels a lively public debate about his condition, about the vacancy of the presidency, about the continuity of service at the top of the state. All this, favored by the silence surrounding him, which remains one of the main peculiarities of the constitutional successor of the late Ahmadou Ahidjo.
While on one side, actors are waiting for explanations from the president, on the regime’s side, silence continues to prevail. Only Minister of State Jacques Fame Ndongo has tried to reassure public opinion by stating that the president works wherever he is and that there is no reason to talk about vacancy where no law limits the number of days the head of state must spend outside the country.
His statement did not convince the entire public. It does not clearly address the question of the health status of the head of state as mentioned by the newspaper Jeune Afrique, which reported that President Paul Biya was going to Switzerland for health reasons. 50 days later, neither the Civil Cabinet nor the Minister of Communication communicates on the subject.
During his stay abroad from September 2 to October 21, 2024, amid declarations about the condition and even the presumed death of the president, the Civil Cabinet and the government spokesperson communicated to reassure the nation. While waiting for such communication to enlighten the people, comments and analyses continue within public opinion. According to an analysis by political scientist Aristide Mono, President Paul Biya holds an absolute record for private stays of African heads of state outside the country. In 43 years in power, he has spent about 2,600 days abroad, nearly 7 years, about 15 to 16% of his time in power.
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