The president of Cameroon, Paul Biya, after being absent from his country for a period of 74 days, has finally returned, putting a halt to questions about his well-being.
- President Paul Biya of Cameroon returned after a 74-day absence abroad, quelling rumors about his health.
- At 93, Biya, the world’s oldest president, arrived from Geneva and was greeted by supporters in Yaoundé.
- His prolonged absence sparked concerns about his leadership capacity and succession in a highly centralized political system.
- During his absence, opposition figures criticized his legitimacy and pointed to health concerns affecting his rule.
Following an absence abroad exceeding ten weeks, the 93-year-old head of state traveled via a chartered flight from Geneva, Switzerland, to Nsimalen International Airport in Yaoundé.
As seen on Reuters, Paul Biya, who is currently the world’s oldest president, landed in the country around 4:45 p.m. local time (1545 pm GMT) alongside his wife, Lady Chantal Biya, before departing in a motorcade for the Etoudi Unity Palace.
Numerous supporters of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) assembled along the capital’s thoroughfares to receive him, displaying party regalia and banners in tribute to the president as he acknowledged the crowd through a partially opened window.
Notwithstanding assurances from official representatives regarding his imminent return, President Biya’s prolonged absence intensified skepticism concerning his health and governance capacity.
Within a political framework where authority remains predominantly centered in the executive office, this period away also heightened anxieties regarding national leadership succession.
On the 7th of August, the Cameroonian president marked 2 months of absence from office.
At the time, a former ally of the president and current opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who finished second in the October 2025 presidential election, stated that there is a general belief in Cameroon that “all is not well” with Biya, whose absence has infuriated his camp.
“Biya’s very long stay in Switzerland only aggravates that lack of legitimacy and his desperate attempts to hold on to power by force,” Bakary stated, as seen on AP.
“Even if Biya still proves to be strong at this age, it is clear that his health challenges are taking a toll on his leadership.
Cabinet reshuffles over the past 15 years have amounted to little more than recycling the same people from one ministry to another,” Wilson Tamfuh, a professor of Public and International Law at the University of Dschang, stated.
The professor was referring to the fact that the Cameroonian president, despite his absence, reshuffled his military cabinet.
New military appointment in Cameroon
Three presidential decrees released early in August and visible on the Cameroonian president’s X site declared the change in military leadership.
They include changing commanders in four of the nation’s five integrated military domains and elevating the head of the Presidential Guard from colonel to brigadier general.
A new commander for the elite Rapid Intervention Brigade, one of Cameroon’s most important security units, was also appointed as a result of the reorganization.
Commanders of motorized infantry brigades around the nation were affected by additional appointments.
