As story of possible death continue to circulate about the health of the Cameroonian president, Cameroon’s Paris-based diplomat André Magnus Ekoumou says Biya is in Geneva.
For nearly a month, the health of Paul Biya, 91, has been the subject of widespread speculation, as the Cameroonian president has successively cancelled appearances at the United Nations General Assembly, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) summit, and the Sustainable Development forum in Hamburg, Germany.
While the Cameroonian diaspora was mobilising in the Paris suburbs, where Paul Biya was allegedly hospitalised at the Percy military hospital in Clamart, the rumours reached a new peak on 8 October with the broadcast, by South African channel ABS Africa TV, of the announcement of the head of state’s death.
● A “completely baseless piece of news”
Contacted by Jeune Afrique on 8 October, André Magnus Ekoumou, Cameroon’s ambassador to France, stated, however, that “Paul Biya has never been hospitalised in Clamart or anywhere in France”.
Expressing his displeasure at the spread of rumours, the diplomat also confirmed the information that the president “is currently in Geneva”.
He added that the head of state is “in good health”, while some of our sources close to the presidency have indicated that he is currently under medical supervision after complications caused by his diplomatic activity in July and August.
From Yaoundé, the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Grégoire Owona, also took to his X account to address the rumours of the president’s death. “Those who are trying, by various means, to deceive public opinion by announcing the death of the Cameroonian head of state must pay a high price for such a gross lie. Since they no longer have any human conscience, the appropriate institutions must take action against these impostors, no matter their origin or location. We are in a democracy, but malice and hatred have their limits!” he declared.
● ‘Baseless news’
Jacques Fame Ndongo, Secretary for Communications of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement and Minister of Higher Education, also penned a statement, in his own characteristic style: “This news is completely baseless. This phantasmagorical scheme must not shake the political maturity, clear-headedness, and patriotism of Cameroonians and our friends. Universal journalism relies on facts, not on fantasies or malicious news. It follows a rigorous approach inspired by experimental sciences, including observation, hypothesis, verification, and law, as Gaston Bachelard pointed out. Journalism is both an art, a technique, and a science.”
A segment of the political class called, on 8 October, for clarification from the civil cabinet of the presidency, led by Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, regarding the president’s true health status and the possibility of a vacancy of power. Noting the “prolonged absence” of Paul Biya and urging Cameroonians to “remain sufficiently cautious and vigilant,” the Cameroon Democratic Union, headed by MP Hermine Patricia Tomaïno Ndam Njoya, called on the presidency, the government, or “any other competent institution […] to take responsibility by providing official information to the people.” [the African report )