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Biya’s Long Absence Raises Fresh Questions In Cameroon
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Cameroon is facing renewed political debate as President Paul Biya remains outside the country for 48 days, raising concerns among opposition leaders and many citizens over delays in government decisions and the country’s leadership.
Biya, 93, who has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades and is the world’s oldest serving head of state, left the country on June 7 for what officials described as a brief private visit to Europe with his wife, Chantal Biya.
Since then, he has remained in Switzerland, where he has frequently travelled over the years.
His prolonged stay has again led to rumours about his health. Earlier reports claimed he had been admitted to a clinic in Geneva, but Cameroon’s Communication Minister, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, denied the reports on June 18, insisting that the president had not been hospitalised.
Despite the government’s assurance, opposition parties say Biya’s continued absence has left the country without active leadership.
Mamadou Mota, vice-president of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), said the situation reflects a clear gap in the country’s institutions.
The leader of the Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC), Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, also called on the government to create a clear legal process for determining when a president is temporarily or permanently unable to carry out official duties.
The ruling party has rejected claims that the country lacks leadership. Higher Education Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo said President Biya remains fully involved in government work and continues to receive and review official documents wherever he is staying.
This is not the first time Biya’s absence has attracted public attention. In late 2024, he also spent about 50 days outside Cameroon, leading to similar concerns.
The opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) described the country as operating without active direction, saying government activities appear to be continuing without proper leadership.
Many Cameroonians have also expressed frustration over the slow pace of government decisions. Viviane Ondoua Biwole, a public management professor at the University of Yaounde, said many people are tired of waiting for changes. She noted that the current government has remained in office for eight years, while many citizens expected a cabinet reshuffle after the last election.
Biya secured an eighth presidential term in the October election, but the result sparked protests across the country. Security forces moved against demonstrators, and the government later confirmed that several dozen people died during the unrest, although it did not release a full casualty figure. Opposition parties rejected the election outcome, while several Western embassies reacted with caution.
In his New Year’s address on December 31, Biya promised to appoint a new government in the coming days. More than seven months later, no new cabinet has been announced.
At the same time, municipal and parliamentary elections have been postponed several times, allowing current office holders to remain in their positions beyond their expected terms.
Although Cameroon has introduced some constitutional and institutional changes, including replacing the heads of both chambers of parliament in March and creating the office of vice-president through constitutional reforms in May, no one has yet been appointed to fill the new position.
The uncertainty has also encouraged the spread of false information. In June, fake documents made to resemble an official presidential decree were sent to a state-owned radio station in the capital, claiming that a vice-president had been appointed. Journalists verified that the documents were not genuine and refused to broadcast the claim.
As questions continue over who could eventually succeed Biya, political observers say there are reports of disagreements among people close to the president.
According to political analyst Stephane Akoa, different groups within Biya’s inner circle are competing for influence, while First Lady Chantal Biya is becoming more involved in government matters and is increasingly mentioned in discussions about appointments and key decisions.
Under Cameroon’s constitution, if the presidency becomes vacant and no vice-president has been appointed, Senate President Aboubakary Abdoulaye would take over temporarily until a new presidential election is held.
A senior Iranian military commander has threatened that one US soldier would be killed for every Iranian citizen killed in US attacks, marking a sharp escalation in rhetoric as tensions between Tehran and Washington continue to intensify.
Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, said on Friday that what he described as a principle previously demonstrated on the battlefield would now become an official equation governing Iran’s response.
According to Abdollahi, any US attack resulting in the death of an Iranian citizen would trigger a direct response against American forces.
“For every martyr from the proud people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, one American force will be eliminated,” he said.
He concluded his message with a strongly worded warning directed at US forces, saying they had been issued what he described as “a one-way ticket to hell.”
The remarks come as military tensions between Tehran and Washington continue across the region, with both sides exchanging threats amid the ongoing conflict.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would not accept a temporary ceasefire under any circumstances unless its demands regarding the Strait of Hormuz are met.
Araghchi said the current dispute with Washington is not the result of a lack of mediators, noting that Pakistan and Qatar continue to play mediation roles. Instead, he argued that the core issue lies in US policies, which he said must change.
Responding to a question about discussions with counterparts from Russia, China, Ukraine, and Pakistan, Araghchi said Iran maintains continuous and organized consultations with Moscow and Beijing and engages in dialogue whenever opportunities arise.
He added that recent meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov provided an opportunity to discuss the conflict in greater detail.
Regarding Pakistan, Araghchi said it was natural to discuss mediation initiatives and proposals with Islamabad but reiterated that the fundamental problem between Tehran and Washington is not the absence of mediators but US policy.
Araghchi also stressed that Iran would not yield to what he described as American pressure or intimidation.
“Iran has shown that it will not bow to US coercion. We do not respond to the language of force, pressure, or threats. We are not afraid of threats, we do not submit to pressure, and we do not accept the language of intimidation,” he said.
He reaffirmed that protecting the Iranian people and safeguarding Iran’s interests in the Strait of Hormuz remain fundamental and non-negotiable principles for Tehran, adding that Iran would maintain its current position until what he described as the legitimate demands of the Iranian people are achieved.
A United States’ court on Wednesday fixed June 2027 for the trial of ousted Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Recall that the US military captured the duo in a stunning nighttime raid in January 2026.
Both have been held in a Brooklyn jail for over seven months after pleading not guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.
Recall that American commandos arrested the couple from their compound in Caracas on January 3.
READ ALSO: JAPA: Trump Unveils Stricter Visa Rules For International Students, Journalists
The lightning operation combined naval, air and ground forces, deposing the strongman who had led Venezuela since 2013.
During the 20-minute hearing on Wednesday, Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial date for June 1 next year following a joint request from prosecutors and defense counsel.
Meanwhile, protesters with signs reading “Free President Maduro” gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse waving Venezuelan flags, while opposing demonstrators held placards calling Maduro and Flores “dictators.”
President Donald Trump has vowed that the US would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant any time its forces attack a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Potential targets would include ones “located next to, or in,” the capital Tehran, he said in a post on Truth Social.
The military response would follow any form of attack on shipping in the vital waterway, “whether it be by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon”.
His threat follows the US launching strikes on Iran for the 11th consecutive night, with Tehran warning the US against targeting its nuclear facilities.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the wave of strikes were “designed to continue degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported that air defences were activated in the capital Tehran. Explosions were also reported in the north-western city of Tabriz, the south-eastern ports of Chabahar and Konarak, and in the southern city of Bushehr, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.
Iran, which has retaliated against the US and its Middle East allies, warned of reprisals after Trump said the US would soon hit an underground nuclear site near Natanz.
Iran and the US agreed a ceasefire in April, but hostilities resumed last week as both countries battled over control of the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Centcom said US forces had targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure.
It also accused Iran of attacking “more than 30 commercial vessels” passing through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three months.
“The unwarranted attacks have endangered hundreds of innocent mariners and undermined freedom of navigation,” it said, adding the waterway remained “open for commercial vessel transit”.
Kuwait’s army said on Wednesday that its air defences had engaged with drone attacks from Iran, while Bahrain and Jordan said they had also intercepted drone and missile strikes.
The price of oil jumped in response to the latest escalation, reaching $94 on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Washington is still willing to engage in diplomacy with Tehran, but added that he did not believe Iran was serious about talks.
Why Iran is risking so much over the Strait of Hormuz
Prior to that, the US president said the next military target could be a complex known as Pickaxe Mountain, an underground nuclear site where Iran is suspected of building an undeclared enrichment facility.
“We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” Trump said on Tuesday, addressing reporters during a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
He added that he would not normally announce targets but “there’s not a thing they can do about it”.
Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya military command said it would consider such an attack “as an expansion of war in the region”, threatening strikes on “all the interests of America, the allies and supporters”, state-run broadcaster IRIB reported.
Trump also threatened to “take care of” the Houthi rebels if the Iran-backed militant group in Yemen followed through on its threatened blockade of Saudi ports.
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