BIYA RETURNS AFTER 10 WEEKS AWAY AND CAMEROON IS STILL ASKING QUESTIONS
Paul Biya arrived back in Yaoundé on Thursday after his longest recorded stay abroad. The 93-year-old had been in Switzerland for over 10 weeks, leaving Cameroon without a visible head of state since June 7.
His office called it a brief private stay in Europe. It became something else entirely.
Biya waved to supporters through a half-open window as his motorcade drove to the Etoudi Unity Palace. That was the first public sign of life from a man whose health has been the subject of speculation for years.
The opposition had asked the Constitutional Council to examine whether someone should fill in during his absence. The council took no action. Under Cameroon’s constitution, if the presidency is declared vacant, the Senate president should take over. But Biya has not appointed a vice president. The role was reinstated in April. He controls that appointment. He has not made it.
Critics say the country runs on autopilot. Key party officials and family members make decisions. The president signs decrees when in Geneva. Official social media accounts post in his name.
Armed insurgencies rage in the north and west. The economy is stagnant. Over 70 percent of Cameroonians are under 35. They have known no other leader.
Biya began his eighth term in November after a widely disputed election. He has now led Cameroon longer than most of its citizens have been alive.
If Biya can disappear for 10 weeks without a functional succession plan, who is really running Cameroon. And how long before the country faces a transition it is not prepared for.
-AsaliNews