He is older than the UN, the internet and the mobile phone, and he still will not let go
Paul Biya is 93 years old. He has been President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. That is 43 years, longer than most Cameroonians have been alive. He is the oldest serving head of state on earth, older than the United Nations, older than the atomic bomb, older than the credit card, the mobile phone and the internet he now governs a young nation through.
In 2008, his parliament scrapped the constitutional two term limit, removing the last legal barrier standing between him and permanent rule. In October 2025 he was declared winner of an eighth term with 53.7 percent of the vote. His main challenger Maurice Kamto was disqualified before a single ballot was cast. The runner up, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, called the whole thing a masquerade, claimed victory himself, and has since fled the country. If Biya serves this term out, he will be ruling Cameroon at nearly 100 years old, in the year 2032.
The cost was paid by the young. When Cameroonians took to the streets in Douala and Garoua, security forces answered with live ammunition. The government admits 16 people were killed. Other counts run far higher. More than 1,200 were arrested. The opposition figure Anicet Ekane died in custody.
Now hold the real number in your mind. Cameroon has 30 million people and a median age of 19. A nation of teenagers and young adults is governed by a man who was born before the Second World War and who spends much of his time in Switzerland, far from the country he claims to serve.
We rage at France for treating Africans as subjects rather than citizens. What do we call it when an African president does the same to his own children and calls it stability.- Historica Africa