Cameroon: Defying death rumors, Biya still president at 91

When Cameroon's president, Paul Biya, landed in Yaounde after weeks abroad, a crowd greeted him. Biya was filmed shaking hands with officials, and supporters lined the street holding placards with such messages as "La force de l'experience" (The strength of experience). But it was the reaction of the presenter for state-run broadcaster that was perhaps most telling.

"Finally, this is not a phantom, it is President Paul Biya having a lengthy discussion with government officials," the presenter for Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) said.

The week before, rumors swirled over the 91-year-old's health. Cameroon's government even banned local media from discussing Biya's health after he did not participate in the United Nations General Assembly in New York or a summit for French-speaking countries in Paris. Before landing in Yaounde, Biya was last seen in public at the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing.

Cameroon faces plethora of challenges

While Biya is credited with bringing multiparty democracy to Cameroon and strengthening relations with Western nations, especially France, the past decade has seen the outbreak of a violent separatist struggle in the nation's Anglophone regions, and unrest in the north, where the terror group Boko Haram is active.

Biya has clamped down on political opposition, jailing hundreds of peaceful protesters, including Maurice Kamto, the runner-up in the most recent presidential election — in 2018 — who spent nine months in jail without charges in 2019 and was freed only after heavy international pressure.

"I'm not sure Biya would have allowed these crises to escalate today," lawyer and opposition politician Tamfu Richard said, suggesting that Biya's years have hampered his ability to resolve national crises. "He's unable to go to those zones due to his age to actually feel the pinch. Also, it is a cause of him not mastering or being able to resolve this crisis."

Additionally, Biya's long absences and lack of visibility is concerning for Cameroonians opposition figures such as the lawyer Michele Ndoki. "The army should be under the guidance of the President of the Republic and he's nowhere to be seen," Ndoki told DW.  

Biya's astonishing longevity  

Biya has been president for over 41 years — second in Africa only to 82-year-old Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has held power in Equatorial Guinea for 45 years.

"President Paul Biya has already given too much for Cameroonians," Tamfu said, "I think his age and his physical capacity requires him to be on retirement."

When Biya became Cameroon's leader, the internet had not been invented, there were no cellphones as we know them today, Ronald Reagan was in the White House, and three African nations (Namibia, Eritrea and South Sudan) did not exist.

Biya's enduring popularity

A number of allied parties have signaled their support for Biya to run in Cameroon's 2025 election. If he runs, is elected, and serves out his term, Biya would be 99 years old by 2032.

Elvis Ngolle Ngolle is a member of Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM). He served as Minister of Forestry and Wildlife in Biya’s government, and refuses to speculate on a post-Biya Cameroon. Instead, he told DW that the CPDM party is gearing up for 2025.

"Any talk about preparing for a post-mandate is really premature and amounts to speculative analysis," he said.

Ndoki, however, attributes Biya's longevity as president to some Cameroonians that "want the power to remain the same."

"I think it is more about the people that are in power currently remaining in power," she told DW, adding that Biya as a brand is still popular.

"The question is whether or not he's able to perform his duty as the president of the Republic," Ndoki said, "and it's been years now, we [the opposition] have been saying no."

Richard said self-interest was driving encouragement for Biya's continued candidacy.

"Some people are still clamoring the president should still go in for election when they know very well he cannot, because they have some advantages that they are deriving from the fact that he is in office," Riichard said. He added that the last Cabinet meeting Biya held was in 2019.

A fragmented opposition plagued by infighting has also failed to provide Cameroonians with clear alternatives. Tamfu Richard and Michele Ndoki are also prominent figures which have fallen out with other opposition leaders.

Aged leadership at odds with Cameroonian demographic

When pressed about the age difference separating Biya and Cameroon's overwhelmingly young population, Ngolle Ngolle said: "We understand the structure of the Cameroonian demographic, that the youths constitute about 65% to 70% of the population. That is understandable, and is a reality and the ruling CPDM party factors this in, so it is not an issue."

Ngolle Ngolle is confident that young Cameroonians will carry on Biya's legacy: "They're very creative, they're very enterprising, and there's no doubt that the future of the country with these young people is great."

"The culture of fear does not exist in Cameroon, because under the leadership of President Biya, the country has come up with a culture whereby people value freedom and people value unity and living together," Ngolle told DW.

Concerns about future   

Richard said Cameroon would face a serious predicament after Biya’s death as Biya the president has not named a successor.

"If Biya dies in power, it may cause a lot of troubles because of power fighting," Richard said. "There should be a proper transition under his supervision."

According to the 1996 constitution, an interim president would be appointed until a new leader is elected. But Ndoki voices a fear about the unresolved question of succession in Cameroon.

"All around our country, in Chad, in Gabon, in Central African Republic, we did have a head of state who was considered the Almighty and ceased to seen as the Almighty at some point," Ndoki said.

"The people lost their power to choose their head of state," she said, "and it became the army or a group of powerful people."

Edited by: Keith Walker