Cameroonians wait for news on president, said to be alive in Geneva

Yaounde, Cameroon — 

The information and nonstop whereabouts of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya stay unclear Thursday, 2 days aft the authorities was forced to denote Biya was live successful Geneva, Switzerland, successful effect to rumors connected societal media that helium had died.

Biya has not been seen successful nationalist for much than 5 weeks, since helium attended the Africa-China forum successful Beijing successful aboriginal September.

Cameroon's Territorial Administration curate Paul Atanga Nji told residents of Massock, a colony adjacent the Atlantic coast, that Biya dispatched him to supply humanitarian assistance to victims of floods sweeping crossed the cardinal African state.

Nji, similar galore Cameroon elder authorities functionaries, told civilians that Biya is successful bully health, and that accusation circulating connected societal and mainstream media astir the 91-year-old president's decease is being dispersed by radical who privation to spot Cameroon devolve into chaos.

"The president of our federation Cameroon cannot beryllium dead,” Gregory Mewano, a subordinate of Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party, said Thursday connected Cameroon authorities radio. “And you find the premier curate successful Germany with a full entourage, the curate of interior taking attraction of interior authorities and the curate of nationalist works inspecting projects."

Officials accidental Biya volition instrumentality to Cameroon soon, but they person not said when. There was nary denotation helium was unwell successful Beijing. He was scheduled to be a gathering of French and African leaders successful Paris afterward, but helium did not appear, and nary crushed was fixed for his absence.

Cameroon absorption and civilian nine groups accidental they are acrophobic astir Biya's lack and health, and inquire authorities officials to contiguous Biya to civilians alternatively of simply saying helium is alive.

With elections lone a twelvemonth away, immoderate groups accidental it is clip to statesman reasoning astir a new, overmuch younger campaigner who could instrumentality the state forward.

"We person had to marque it wide to some nationalist and planetary opinions that a fig of absorption governmental parties are … consulting with regards to the happenings of Cameroon, and this rumor [about Biya’s death] is not an exception,” said Michael Ngwese Eke Ekosso, president of the absorption United Socialist Democratic Party. “Decisions volition beryllium arrived astatine with regards to the upcoming statesmanlike elections."

Some absorption governmental parties person projected uniting down Akere Muna, an English-speaking anti-corruption lawyer and bully governance crusader, arsenic a campaigner successful the October 2025 statesmanlike election.

Muna, who is 72, said if elected, helium would motorboat a three-year transitional play to assistance Cameroon from Biya's iron-fisted 42-year rule.

"Our profound reflection is that a non-renewable modulation is essential,” Muna said. “The imaginativeness we are proposing is to fortify ideology and governance, follow a caller constitution that incarnates the contiguous and aboriginal aspirations of the radical of Cameroon, and beforehand escaped and just elections."

If elected, Muna would beryllium Cameroon’s archetypal person from the occidental regions wherever English is the superior language.

His supporters accidental having a president from that country whitethorn assistance extremity a seven-year insurgency by English-speaking equipped groups, who accidental English-speakers successful Cameroon are marginalized by the French-speaking majority.

Opposition parties blasted Biya for not being capable to lick the crisis.

Meanwhile, Cameroonians of each parties hold anxiously for factual signs that Biya is live and volition beryllium returning to his country.