Cameroon’s Paul Biya is increasingly absent from global events

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Initially, Paul Biya had planned to continue his summer of diplomatic engagements, which began in France in July and continued in China in August. He had been expected in New York for the UN General Assembly in late September but cancelled that trip to focus on resting in Switzerland, where he has been since early September.

He had hoped to return to the international stage at the OIF (Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie) summit but has once again cancelled.

Despite official confirmation of his participation until the eve of the event, Biya was instead represented by his experienced foreign minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella, at the summit alongside Louise Mushikiwabo, Secretary General of La Francophonie, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Signs of fatigue

Sources close to the presidency have cited Biya’s health as the reason for the cancellation. After his trips to Paris for the Olympic Games opening and the Sino-African Forum in Beijing, the president showed signs of fatigue, prompting his doctors to advise a slower pace. No official statements were made, allowing speculation to circulate about his diplomatic schedule.

Biya had been expected to return to Cameroon in mid-September after his stay in China. Preparations for his arrival had been put in place but were later lifted when his medical team advised him to remain in Switzerland, where he regularly undergoes medical care and takes extended periods of rest.

Since then, he has been under the supervision of his doctors at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva. Contrary to rumours on social media, Biya did not travel to Paris for the OIF summit, even though his current aircraft, a Boeing 767 leased from Comlux, did fly from Geneva to Le Bourget near Paris on 24 September. No official information has been provided about the passengers on that flight, which left Le Bourget in early October.

A lightened schedule

Biya is under the watch of the Presidential Security Directorate (DSP), which ensures the discretion of his stay in Switzerland. He is accompanied by close family members, including First Lady Chantal Biya, his children Franck and Brenda Biya, his stepson Franck Hertz, and Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, director of the civil cabinet. The latter, in close collaboration with Chantal Biya, is responsible for reducing the president’s agenda as much as possible, allowing him to follow his medical team’s advice.

Africa Insights

According to sources, several meetings scheduled with the president have been cancelled in the last few hours in Geneva. The Cameroonian presidency is also expected to remove the Hamburg Sustainable Development Summit, scheduled for 7 and 8 October, from Biya’s programme. Lejeune Mbella Mbella is likely to represent him once again.