Concern is growing in Cameroon about 92-year-old President Paul Biya, who has not been seen in public for more than 40 days.

Biya has not yet returned to Cameroon more than a week after state officials said he would be back from Geneva, following rumors of his death. Several groups say Biya’s long absence suggests he is not healthy enough to be president.

Biya was last seen in public on September 8, while leaving Beijing, where he attended the Africa-China forum in the company of world leaders, a few of his collaborators and his wife, Chantal Biya.

Civilians say they suspect Biya is not in good health and is receiving treatment wherever he is.

Opposition and civil society groups say Biya should be in the country to lead the nation amid multiple challenges, including a prolonged separatist crisis that has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the country’s western regions.

Government troops are fighting Boko Haram terrorists on the northern border with Chad and Nigeria, and rebels are fleeing to eastern Cameroon from armed conflicts in the neighboring Central African Republic.

Tamfu Richard, a human rights lawyer and a member of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation, or CPNR, said he has delivered a petition to National Assembly Speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril to inform Cameroon’s constitutional council of what he says is a vacancy created by Biya’s absence.

“I am simply requesting the president [speaker] of the National Assembly to exercise a constitutional right, which is to refer the vacancy [Biya’s long absence] to the constitutional council,” Richard said. “According to the [Cameroon] constitution, the seat of institutions is in Yaounde, and if the president of the republic is out of Cameroon, not on an official visit or for justifiable reasons, it could be that the president of the republic has absconded from his place of work.”

VOA could not independently verify if Richard’s petition has been received by the speaker of the national assembly, but copies of the document have been widely circulated on social media.

On October 9, government officials said social and mainstream media reports that Biya was dead were unfounded. They said Biya was alive and in excellent health and was to return to Cameroon soon.

When reports aired calling for Biya’s whereabouts to be made public and saying civilians want to see their president, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji banned the media from discussing Biya’s health. Nji ordered authorities to monitor all media to make sure violators are charged for illegally discussing top security issues.

Ndi Eugene Ndi, president of the Yaounde chapter of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, or CAMASEJ, says most media ignore the ban.

“The press should be free to talk about the president’s health,” Ndi said. “The citizens have to know where the president is through the media.”

Biya has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades. Opposition parties say he rules with an iron fist and wants to keep power until he dies. Biya has always claimed he won all elections after he constitutionally took power from Ahmadou Ahidjo, Cameroon’s first president, in 1982. Ahidjo resigned after complaining of his failing health.

Source: VOA

Cameroon has been plunged into darkness and speculations are rife. So many people are speculating that something ominous might be happening.

“There are some people who suspect that Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh is working with the military to stage a coup d’état. There is tension in Yaoundé and even the ministers are trembling. Something unorthodox is certainly playing out,” a source which elected unanimity said.

In Yaoundé, a source close to the Presidency said that the power failure could be because regime insiders might be looking for ways to smuggle Mr. Biya’s remains into the country.

Other people have suggested that a coup d’état could be playing out as rumor about Mr. Biya’s death spreads like wild fire.

“How could an entire country be in total darkness? What are the people in Yaoundé cooking up? I have seen videos of Nigerians calling on the military to take over power and I think Cameroon is also ripe for a coup,” a source in Yaoundé said.

The Cameroon Concord News Group has been trying to get in touch with ENEO, the country’s power utility, but all the contact numbers provided by the company are not working.

ENEO, Cameroon’s power utility released a statement some few hours ago that there are some technical issues. But many people are still suspicious as nothing official in Cameroon earns the people’s confidence these days.

It should be recalled that the failed 1984 coup d’état was planned using SONEL which was the country’s power utility at the time to import arms into the country. If the coup had succeeded, Issa Adom would have been proclaimed the president of Cameroon.

This is a developing story.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

After Marcel Niat Njifenji, the Senate President and Paul Biya, the country’s president, it seems Cavaye Djibril, the House Speaker is also heading to Europe for treatment.

The National Assembly Speaker has been drinking and smoking for decades, and his recklessness has caught with him, delivering health issues which are now threatening to send him to his ancestors.

It seems all senior government officials of the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime are down with terrible illnesses.

Even Atangana Clément, the Constitutional Council President, is also very ill. Cavaye Djibril is supposed to inform Atangana Clément of a vacancy as Biya has been out of the country for more than 40 days and none of them is healthy to do their job.

Cameroon is the only country in the world where all its leaders are very old and sick but none is willing to leave power.

Currently, the country’s president, Paul Biya, is in Geneva receiving treatment for multiple illnesses and Niat, the Senate President, is in France following a long and unknown health problem.

The country’s economy is as ill as its leaders and many young Cameroonians are looking outwards for opportunities as their economy goes through serious issues.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Three individuals were recently arrested in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in possession of human remains, according to Cameroun Tribune. Aged between 25 and 30, the suspects, originally from Maroua, were apprehended following an investigation by authorities.

The investigation led to Pouss, a village in the Far North region, where nearly 30 graves had been desecrated. The seized skeleton, valued at an estimated six million CFA francs, was intended for a foreign buyer and was meant to be used in the production of a hard drug called “caillou.”

This arrest comes amid a troubling surge in human bone trafficking. On October 11, the National Gendarmerie arrested two suspects in Douala as they attempted to sell human bones. The suspects admitted that the bones were intended for sale at a price of five million CFA francs.

Cameroonian law severely punishes human bone trafficking. Article 274, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code stipulates a prison sentence of three months to five years and a fine ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 CFA francs for anyone convicted of grave or corpse desecration. However, this legislation appears insufficient to deter traffickers, who lure many young people with promises of quick profits.

Source: Sbbc

Cameroon’s public wage bill rose by CFA33.7 billion year-on-year, reaching CFA332.6 billion by the end of March 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry attributes this increase to several factors. One is the acceleration of back-pay settlements, which reached CFA42.4 billion in 2024, up from CFA32.2 billion in 2023. Another factor is a 5% salary increase in February 2024, along with a rise in family allowances from CFA2,800 to CFA4,500 per child.

The wage bill’s continued growth, largely driven by extensive public sector hiring, has raised concerns among officials who aim to maintain fiscal stability. Since 2021, the government has been working to limit public sector recruitment. For example, automatic recruitment of graduates from teacher training schools has been discontinued.

These measures, along with efforts to clean up payroll records, are part of Cameroon’s plan to meet the public wage sustainability ratio by 2025. If successful, it would be the first time in 16 years. The target, set at 35% within the CEMAC region, reflects the ratio of state wage expenses to annual tax and customs revenues.

Source: Business in Cameroon