Headline News

3, August 2026

Biya regime secures $160m to improve disease detection and emergency response ⁰

Cameroon has launched a three-year pandemic preparedness program backed by nearly $160 million, with the government and development partners seeking to strengthen the country’s ability to detect and contain disease outbreaks before they escalate.

The financing package includes a $23.5 million grant from the Pandemic Fund, $112.3 million in co-financing from development partners and $24 million from the Cameroonian government. According to the Ministry of Public Health and the Pandemic Fund, the money will be used to reinforce disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, emergency response systems and health workforce training under the One Health approach.

The program comes as Cameroon faces multiple public health risks linked to population displacement, regional insecurity, natural disasters and increasing human interaction with wildlife, factors that heighten the country’s exposure to epidemics before they are detected and contained.

A major part of the project will focus on improving surveillance. The government plans to strengthen monitoring at key entry points, establish seven regional call centers and digitalize community-based surveillance in more than 40 municipalities.

Antimicrobial resistance monitoring will also be expanded through 42 sentinel sites. The program is intended to improve the exchange of information between public health, veterinary and environmental services, allowing authorities to identify emerging threats more quickly.

These investments are aligned with the global 7-1-7 target, under which a suspected outbreak should be detected within seven days, reported within one day and followed by an effective response within seven additional days.

Laboratory capacity will receive substantial support. Fifty laboratories are expected to improve their quality-control and diagnostic systems, while three national reference laboratories will be upgraded to meet international ISO standards. The project will also strengthen the transport of biological samples and expand genomic surveillance for priority diseases, including cholera, meningitis and hemorrhagic fevers.

Emergency response capacity is another focus. Ten regional Public Health Emergency Operations Centers will be equipped and activated, while integrated rapid response teams will be trained to intervene during epidemics and other health emergencies.

The program will also train epidemiologists, veterinary specialists, community health workers, local government officials and environmental health professionals. It is expected to improve coordination among the institutions involved in outbreak prevention and response, as well as the management of funds and equipment assigned to health security.

According to the Pandemic Fund, successful implementation will result in stronger early warning systems, upgraded laboratory networks, enhanced emergency response capacity and improved collaboration across sectors. The program draws on lessons from Cameroon’s response to COVID-19, cholera, Mpox and other outbreaks while reinforcing the country’s long-term health security framework.

Source: Business in Cameroon

3, August 2026

Brazil’s Lula says he is ‘in great shape’ as he launches fourth term bid ⁰

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, said Sunday he was “in great shape” as he launched his candidacy for October elections, with pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration looming over the campaign.

Lula, a leftist titan of Latin American politics who is loved and despised in near-equal measure in Brazil, highlighted what he called his stamina and good health as he addressed a convention of his Worker’s Party (PT) in Sao Paulo attended by around 3,000 people.

“I want to fight against old age. I don’t want to be shuffling along. That’s why I work out my legs. That’s why I work out my arms. That’s why I walk for an hour,” said the veteran leftist, adding he was far fitter than when he was first elected in 2002.

The former metalworker and union leader made a dramatic comeback when he returned to power three years ago after a stint in jail on corruption charges that were later annulled.

He is seeking a fourth and final term in office.

Brazil’s constitution allows presidents to serve two consecutive terms. After sitting out at least one term, they can run again, with no lifetime limit on the number of terms.

In his speech to a crowd awash in red, the colour of the PT, Lula compared himself to World Cup icons like Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

“What people don’t realise is that this World Cup of mine is the seventh,” he said, referring to the number of times he has run for the top job in the past four decades.

Standing next to his wife, Rosangela da Silva, 59, he said he would not run again, because “after we hand Brazil back to the Brazilian people in perfect shape – we’re going on vacation to focus on romance for another 20 years.”

Lula’s main election rival is Flavio Bolsonaro, eldest son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.

The 45-year-old senator stepped into the role after his father was convicted of plotting a coup to prevent Lula from taking power in 2023.

Source: France 24

3, August 2026

Far North Region: Armed groups kidnapped 308 people ⁰

Non-state armed groups kidnapped 308 people in Cameroon’s Far North region between April and June 2026, up from 141 during the same period in 2025. The number of victims rose 118% year on year, according to Situation Report No. 65, published on July 31, 2026, by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The surge in kidnappings was the clearest sign of deteriorating security in the second quarter. OCHA recorded 207 incidents attributed to non-state armed groups, leaving 72 people dead and 48 injured.

The trend contrasts sharply with the death toll. Violence killed 72 people between April and June 2026, compared with 77 during the same period a year earlier, a modest decline of 6.5%. Over the same period, kidnappings more than doubled, with 167 additional victims.

The figures suggest that the death toll alone does not capture the deterioration in security. Kidnappings were among the main threats facing civilians during the quarter in the region bordering Nigeria.

Beyond their direct impact on victims and their families, kidnappings fuel fear, restrict movement and disrupt livelihoods. They can also force residents to move to areas perceived as safer. The insecurity also limits humanitarian access to affected communities.

Two Incidents Involving Explosive Devices

OCHA also reported two incidents involving improvised explosive devices in the Logone-et-Chari division between April and June 2026, compared with none during the same period in 2025.

Two incidents are too few to establish a broader trend, but they represent an additional threat to residents and humanitarian workers, particularly on roads through conflict-affected areas.

The surge in kidnappings comes as the Far North is already grappling with overlapping humanitarian crises. OCHA cited new population displacements, a worsening measles outbreak, the emergence of cholera and persistent food insecurity.

Although the report does not directly link these crises, their convergence is increasing household vulnerability and placing further strain on the humanitarian response. The figures underscore the continuing threat to civilians in the Far North, even as the death toll remains broadly stable.

Source: Sbbc

3, August 2026

Dangote Cement Cameroon: expansion meets weaker sales ⁰

Dangote Cement’s Cameroon subsidiary sold 596,800 metric tons of cement in the first half of 2026, down 13.1% from a year earlier, according to the company’s unaudited half-year results published on July 29, 2026.

After selling 300,000 tons between January and March, as reported in its first-quarter results, second-quarter sales can therefore be calculated at 296,800 tons. That was down 1.1% from the previous quarter.

The lack of a rebound contrasts with the subsidiary’s June 2026 announcement that it plans to increase its production capacity in Cameroon to 3 million tons a year from 1.5 million by 2028. Annualizing first-half sales would put full-year volume at 1.194 million tons. That would be equivalent to 79.6% of current capacity but only 39.8% of the planned capacity.

These ratios are not capacity utilization rates. The published results provide neither the Douala plant’s actual production nor changes in inventories. They nonetheless illustrate the scale of the commercial challenge: based on a simple extrapolation of the first-half pace, selling 3 million tons would require sales to increase by about 2.5 times.

Two Quarters Without a Rebound

Dangote’s reported 13.1% decline indicates that first-half 2025 sales were about 686,800 tons. The subsidiary therefore sold about 90,000 fewer tons than a year earlier.

The decline appears to have eased, however. After a 15.8% drop in the first quarter, the year-on-year decrease between April and June can be estimated at about 10.2%. The calculation is based on the rounded half-year and quarterly figures reported by the group and should therefore be treated as an approximation.

That relative improvement does not yet amount to a recovery. The calculated second-quarter volume of 296,800 tons remained below the 300,000 tons sold in the first quarter.

Dangote attributed the weak performance to a slowdown in construction following the elections, delays in public spending and slower infrastructure project execution. In its half-year results, the group described the weakness as temporary and forecast a recovery as spending and project execution resume.

That is the company’s assessment. Available public data do not make it possible to separate the effect of slower construction activity from potential market share shifts toward other producers. Without comprehensive statistics covering all cement producers in the first half of 2026, Dangote’s sales decline also cannot be equated with a similar contraction in national consumption.

The first-half performance largely extends the decline recorded in 2025. That year, volumes at the Douala plant fell 14.1% to 1.2 million tons from 1.4 million in 2024, according to Dangote Cement’s 2025 annual results. Annualizing first-half 2026 sales therefore puts the subsidiary almost exactly at the previous year’s level.

Cameroon’s Role in Dangote’s Regional Clinker Network

Dangote’s Cameroon facility is not an integrated cement plant that produces clinker locally. The group describes it as a grinding plant with annual capacity of 1.5 million tons and a jetty that allows clinker to be unloaded directly at the facility. The semi-finished product is then ground with local pozzolana and gypsum to produce cement.

This configuration links the Cameroon subsidiary to the group’s regional industrial and logistics network. Dangote’s Nigerian plants shipped 754,000 tons of clinker to Cameroon and Ghana in the first half of 2026, up 56.7% from a year earlier, according to the cement producer’s half-year results. The group does not disclose how the volume was divided between the two countries.

A Dangote Cement strategy presentation published in June 2026 sets out the economic rationale behind the network. According to the group, the model “maximises utilisation of Nigeria’s asset base” and “leverages Nigeria’s integrated plants to feed African sites without needing to build further kilns.” In other words, Nigerian kilns serve as a regional production base supplying African grinding plants without the need to build new kilns in each market.

The model allows Dangote to increase utilization of its Nigerian plants and limit the industrial investment required in the countries it supplies. But it keeps Cameroon at the downstream end of the value chain, with limestone still being burned into clinker abroad.

The significance of the Cameroon project therefore extends beyond the additional capacity. The planned facility’s configuration is equally important. A new grinding plant would increase local cement-grinding capacity but would also increase the need for imported clinker. An integrated cement plant equipped with a kiln and supplied by a limestone quarry would represent a more significant shift in the industry’s structure.

That distinction is particularly important because Cameroon imported 3,106,782 tons of clinker in 2025 for 97.317 billion CFA francs, according to the preliminary foreign trade report published by the National Institute of Statistics in April 2026. The purchases rose 20.5% by volume and 14.7% by value from 2024. Clinker accounted for 1.9% of the total value of Cameroon’s imports.

A 3 Million-Ton Target First Announced in 2015

The 3 million-ton figure is not new. When the plant was inaugurated in 2015, the Prime Minister’s Office said the facility was expected to reach 1.5 million tons by the end of that year and that its “actual capacity,” according to its promoter, was 3 million tons.

Eleven years later, Dangote still lists its installed capacity in Cameroon at 1.5 million tons a year.

The project resurfaced publicly on July 21, 2026. After a meeting with Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, Dangote Group Vice President Devakumar Edwin announced plans to build a new plant in the country’s economic capital. “We also intend to build a new cement plant in Douala. We will visit sites to determine where to locate this plant,” he said, according to remarks reported by Business & Finance International on July 23.

The statement indicates that the project remains at a preliminary stage. Dangote said it was still searching for a site, with no location finalized. No publicly available information specifies the cost of the Cameroon investment, the construction schedule, the new plant’s capacity or whether it will include a clinker kiln.

The location itself also remains unclear. In June 2026, Dangote Cement Cameroon referred both to an expansion of the Douala facility and the revival of a project for a second 1.5 million-ton plant in an industrial zone in Yaoundé. A month later, the group’s management announced a new cement plant in Douala. Dangote has not publicly clarified whether these are separate projects or whether the company has shifted the proposed location.

Sinoma Agreement Does Not Specify Cameroon Project Costs

The agreement signed with Sinoma International Engineering on February 28, 2026, does not resolve these uncertainties. It covers an estimated investment of more than $1 billion and 12 construction, expansion or modernization projects in seven African countries, including Cameroon, according to information published by Agence Ecofin on March 4, 2026.

No public breakdown identifies the amount allocated to Cameroon. The agreement also does not specify whether the local investment will take the form of a grinding plant, an integrated cement plant or a simple expansion of the existing facility.

The agreement alone therefore does not establish that work to double capacity has begun. It mainly confirms that Cameroon is among the markets included in Dangote Cement’s continental expansion strategy.

The proposed expansion therefore raises two issues. Commercially, Dangote would need to restore growth, gain market share or develop new outlets to absorb the additional capacity. Industrially, it must clarify whether the investment will only expand local grinding capacity or also reduce Cameroon’s dependence on imported clinker.

Until the site, financing, timetable and technical configuration are disclosed, the increase to 3 million tons remains a stated target. It comes as Dangote’s Cameroon sales have remained at about 300,000 tons per quarter since the beginning of 2026.

Source: Business in Cameroon

1, August 2026

Unity Palace: Why accusations against Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh are causing a scandal ⁰

A deserter facing an arrest warrant for fraud, the former head of Paul Biya’s military intelligence bureau has broken his silence from Europe. His accusations against the secretary-general of the presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh are rocking Yaoundé.

Accusations from exile

The former intelligence chief, who is currently characterized as a deserter and is facing an arrest warrant for fraud, has used his position in Europe to target one of the most powerful figures in the Cameroonian government.

His claims against Ngoh Ngoh have triggered a political scandal in Yaoundé, as they come from an individual who once held a high-level security role within the presidency’s inner circle.

Context of the dispute

The situation is complicated by the legal status of the accuser. Having left the country, he now faces official warrants related to fraud allegations, while simultaneously attempting to challenge the reputation of the Secretary-General.

The intensity of the reaction in the capital suggests that the claims have hit a sensitive nerve within the administration of President Paul Biya.

Implications for the presidency

The scandal highlights internal frictions within Cameroon’s top security and administrative apparatus. Because the accusations originate from a former military intelligence lead, they carry a weight that typically causes significant disruption within the halls of power in Yaoundé.

As the situation develops, the presidency has yet to provide a formal response to the specific claims made from Europe.

Source: Businessselitesafrica

1, August 2026

Biya’s Health: CPDM political bureau must act before uncertainty becomes crisis ⁰

Speculation surrounding President Paul Biya’s condition and political future has once again exposed a fundamental weakness in Cameroon’s governance: the absence of a clear and credible transition strategy. Whether the rumor proves true or false is ultimately secondary to the larger issue. A nation of millions cannot afford to have its future held hostage by uncertainty.

The responsibility now rests squarely with the Political Bureau of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). As the governing party and the country’s dominant political force for decades, it has both the authority and the obligation to reassure citizens that the state remains stable, functional and prepared for every eventuality.

An emergency session of the Political Bureau should be convened without delay. Such a meeting would not be an admission of crisis; rather, it would demonstrate responsible leadership and institutional maturity. Every enduring political organization must be capable of managing succession in an orderly and transparent manner.

Cameroon stands at a defining moment. The country’s economic challenges, security concerns and aspirations of its youthful population demand leadership that is present, energetic and capable of engaging directly with the realities of the day. Prolonged ambiguity serves no one. It fuels speculation, unsettles investors, weakens public confidence and creates unnecessary political tension.

The CPDM Political Bureau should use an emergency session to chart a clear path forward by identifying and endorsing a new leader capable of uniting the party and presenting a compelling vision for the nation’s future. Such a decision should be guided by competence, integrity, experience and a commitment to national cohesion rather than factional interests.

This is not merely about preserving the fortunes of the CPDM. It is about protecting the stability of the Republic. History has shown that countries fare best when leadership transitions are managed through strong institutions rather than uncertainty and rumor.

Cameroonians deserve clarity. They deserve confidence that their institutions are prepared for tomorrow regardless of today’s speculation. The ruling party has an opportunity to demonstrate that it places the nation’s interests above political hesitation.

The time for silence has passed. The time for decisive, responsible leadership is now. The CPDM Political Bureau should convene an emergency session immediately and provide the country with a clear, credible roadmap for the future through the selection of a new national chairman.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

1, August 2026

CPDM Crime Syndicate: 3 state-owned companies account for 93% of public enterprise debt ⁰

Three state-owned companies—SONARA, Camair-Co, and CAMTEL—account for nearly all of the direct domestic debt currently reported for Cameroon’s public enterprises, underscoring how a handful of companies dominate the government’s commercial-sector debt exposure.

According to data from the Autonomous Sinking Fund (CAA) analyzed by Investir au Cameroun, the three companies carried a combined CFA297.3 billion ($510 million) in direct domestic debt as of the end of June 2026, representing 93% of the CFA319.6 billion outstanding across public enterprises and establishments.

The figure does not include floating debt or the liabilities of the Cameroon Electricity Company (Socadel), which are still being assessed.

The reported debt stock was unchanged from May. However, it declined by 0.8% over three months and by 8.3% year over year. These changes apply only to direct domestic debt contracted by public entities and exclude other categories of liabilities tracked separately by the CAA.

SONARA Alone Represents Nearly 60% of the Total

With CFA191.3 billion in outstanding debt, the National Refining Company (SONARA) remains by far the country’s most indebted public enterprise in this category, accounting for 59.9% of the total portfolio.

The CAA breaks down SONARA’s debt into CFA162.4 billion in bank loans and CFA28.8 billion owed to suppliers. The rounded figures add up to CFA191.2 billion, leaving a CFA100 million difference from the published total, likely due to rounding in the report.

Despite remaining the largest debtor, SONARA has reduced its outstanding debt by CFA8.2 billion since December 2025, when it stood at CFA199.5 billion. The 4.1% decline comes as the company continues to seek financing for the rehabilitation of its refinery, whose operations were halted after a fire in May 2019.

Camair-Co ranks second with CFA62.4 billion, equal to 19.5% of the reported debt stock. Its outstanding debt has remained unchanged since December 2025.

CAMTEL completes the top three with CFA43.6 billion, or 13.6% of the total. The state-owned telecommunications operator reduced its domestic debt by CFA5.9 billion, or 11.9%, compared with the CFA49.5 billion recorded at the end of June 2025.

All other public entities combined account for just CFA22.3 billion, or 7% of the portfolio. The Cameroon Development Corporation carries CFA9.4 billion in debt, followed by FEICOM with CFA7.6 billion, Camwater with CFA5.2 billion, and the Port Authority of Douala with CFA100 million.

Floating Debt Adds Another CFA156.5 Billion

The 93% concentration does not include the floating debt of public enterprises, which the CAA tracks separately.

That category totaled CFA156.5 billion at the end of June 2026, down 19.5% from a year earlier.

Tax and customs obligations make up the largest share at 68.6%, or about CFA107.4 billion. Commercial debt accounts for 21.3%, or CFA33.3 billion. Academic debt represents about CFA13 billion, or 8.3% of the total, while social security obligations amount to CFA2.8 billion, or 1.8%.

The breakdown shows that the liabilities of public enterprises extend beyond bank borrowing and supplier debt to include unpaid taxes, customs duties, social contributions, and other obligations accumulated through day-to-day operations.

Socadel Could Significantly Change the Debt Picture

The CAA notes that the CFA319.6 billion reported for direct domestic debt does not yet include the liabilities of Socadel, created following the renationalization of former power utility Eneo.

The assessment of those liabilities is still underway, based on a preliminary estimate of roughly CFA800 billion.

Taken on its own, that indicative amount is about two and a half times larger than the entire direct domestic debt currently reported for public enterprises. However, it cannot be added directly to the CFA319.6 billion until the CAA finalizes the assessment and determines how the liabilities should be classified, including bank debt, supplier obligations, tax liabilities, social contributions, and any overlapping claims involving other public entities.

As a result, while SONARA, Camair-Co, and CAMTEL currently account for 93% of the direct domestic debt officially reported by the CAA, that concentration reflects only the published portfolio. Once Socadel’s liabilities are incorporated, the financial profile of Cameroon’s state-owned commercial sector could change substantially.

Source: Business in Cameroon

31, July 2026

Biya may have suffered a stroke ⁰

Speculation is swirling that President Paul Biya has suffered a massive stroke and is gravely ill in a private clinic in Geneva, Switzerland. A Belgian brain surgeon recruited by the Biya family is believed to have flown to Geneva to treat the 93-year-old dictator; a well-placed source has hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report.

Africa’s most unpredictable nation is thought to be heading for a succession crisis involving the three pillars of state – the Biya family, the army and the ruling CPDM Party… after a record 53-day absence by the world’s oldest head of state in his native Cameroon.

There is no sign of Biya, 93, anywhere in Yaoundé and the country’s state media CRTV is silent about his absence.

“There is reason to believe President Paul Biya has suffered a serious health setback, possibly a stroke,” a Cameroonian intelligence official told Cameroon Intelligence Report, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another official hinted our Yaoundé City correspondent that reports of Biya’s possible health problems are based in part on intelligence gathered by several people in the know and that rumours had been circulating for months about the state of Biya’s health and his control over the Cameroon government.

“What we do know is that he has been out of the country for 53 days now,” a CEMAC intelligence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity about the Biya administration’s internal assessment. “53 days is quite unusual and reinforces a lot of what the international community is hearing.”

While Cameroon military officials have been speaking and suing for anonymity, the CPDM government has said little publicly.

Biya’s last public appearance was in May, and rumours about his health began circulating soon after.

A top army brass, General Tchemo who recently questioned the president’s prolonged absence from the country and was sent on retirement has even stated that Biya may have died and that his acolytes may be planning to use body doubles at public events.

Biya, known to Cameroonians as “Mis-Leader in Chief,” took over the reins of Cameroon’s highly centralized Francophone dominated government when the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo resigned.

Biya has so many children from different mothers, but has not publicly named any of them as his successor.

His rumoured health issues come as Cameroon is facing the worst socio-economic crisis it’s seen since the 1990s.

The army and the national gendarmerie are holding secret talks about their shared fear of instability.

By Rita Akana

31, July 2026

AC Milan ‘in tears’ at death of Italian football legend Baresi ⁰

Italian defender Franco Baresi, the captain of AC Milan in the 1980s and 1990s when they won three European Cups and six Italian league titles, has died at the age of 66, the club announced on Friday.

“Milan is in tears following the passing of Franco Baresi. His example and integrity will be forever etched into the Club’s DNA, just as his iconic number 6 shirt is,” AC Milan, of which Baresi became honorary vice-president in 2020, wrote on X.

“We must be strong and gather every bit of energy, even at this saddest of times.

“We lost Franco only a few months after his last public appearance in a packed San Siro, at the Milan Winter Olympics opening ceremony, an event on the world stage he helped make unforgettable.

“In memory of Franco, we stand united, knowing he’ll guide and push us throughout our Rossoneri journey. Forever. Because Baresi is forever.”

A World Cup winner with Italy in 1982 and a finalist at the 1994 World Cup, Baresi is regarded as one of the greatest sweepers in football history.

AC Milan did not specify the cause of Baresi’s death.

He had undergone surgery in August 2025 to remove a lung nodule.

“It will take me a little time to get all my strength back,” he said shortly afterwards.

Born in Lombardy in May 1960, Baresi joined AC Milan’s youth teams in 1974, before moving up to the first team in 1978 ahead of his 18th birthday.

He then became a starter at 18 and captain at 22, noticed for his technique, anticipation and tackling skills, as well as his notable leadership qualities.

Baresi went on to form, alongside Paolo Maldini, Mauro Tassotti and Alessandro Costacurta, a defence feared by every striker in Europe.

He retired in 1997 after 719 matches with the Rossoneri, a record surpassed only by Maldini.

“Today I feel the same thing as to when for one reason or another you were unable to be on the pitch with us,” said Maldini.

“How are we going to cope without our captain?”

‘Greatest of defenders’

Gianluigi Buffon, Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning goalkeeper, said his Serie A debut for Parma had stayed with him.

“November 19, 1995, I made my debut in Serie A against Milan,” he wrote.

“I was 17… to be on the pitch against such a champion was an unbelievable experience.”

In addition to his red and black club jersey, Baresi wore the blue of the Nazionale 81 times.

But after a World Cup title from the bench in 1982, he did not make the trip to Mexico in 1986 following a disagreement with the national coach.

Penalty shootouts, in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup and then in the final in 1994, shattered his hopes of another triumph.

A Diego Maradona-led Argentina were their nemesis in the 1990 semi-final, but the late Argentinian superstar had paid him the greatest tribute when his club Napoli beat Milan 3-0 in a Serie A game the year before.

He asked for Baresi’s shirt and donned it in a post-match interview.

“He is the greatest of defenders. It is a memory I will keep for the rest of my life,” he said.

Baresi performed various roles for Milan in his retirement, the only time he spent away from them was a brief spell as technical director of English club Fulham.

“Ultimately, it was only a month: before the end of August, I was already back in Milan,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport in 2025.

“I realised it wasn’t the place for me, and in the end, I didn’t even start working. The umbilical cord with Milan was never broken.”

However, he was never a man to feature in the gossip pages preferring to spend time abroad for the Milan Foundation which he found educational and rewarding.

“With Fondazione Milan, I witnessed poverty in Kenya and Morocco,” he told Gazzetta.

“In Lebanon, I played football in the street with children. These are emotions that have completed me.”

Source: AFP

31, July 2026

53 days and counting: where is Paul Biya? ⁰

A record 53-day absence by the world’s oldest head of state has renewed speculation in his native Cameroon about whether he is dead or alive, even though discussing his health is illegal in the country.

On 7 June, 93-year-old Paul Biya left for Switzerland for what officials described as a “brief private stay” alongside his wife, Chantal. Almost two months later, neither the president nor the first lady have addressed the country or been seen publicly.

Biya, who took office in 1982 after a seven-year stint as prime minister, has taken increasingly long absences from Cameroon in recent years, spending much of his time at the five-star InterContinental hotel in Geneva.

No official timetable has been announced for the president’s return from his latest trip abroad, leaving Cameroonians to rely on a succession of conflicting statements from government officials.

The minister of communication, René Emmanuel Sadi, said Biya was in good health and “working from Geneva, where he currently resides”.

“Reports claiming otherwise are pure fantasy and malicious manipulation aimed at destabilising opinion,” he added. Jacques Fame Ndongo, a senior official from the ruling party and the higher education minister, said Biya had been “meticulously following the files submitted to him by his aides … wherever he is”.

The labour minister, Grégoire Owona, gave a different explanation, saying the president was on annual leave and comparing him to regular Cameroonian citizens. “Paul Biya, elected by the Cameroonian people and paid by them, is a worker who has the right to annual leave,” he said. “His employer is obliged to grant it. He informed his employer before leaving and will do the same upon his return.”

Cameroonian authorities banned discussion of Biya’s health in October 2024, during another absence. Nevertheless, local media have published claims in recent weeks that he is critically ill, and jokes about Biya being a work-from-abroad president or a remote-work president have resurfaced on social media.

Mamadou Mota, the vice-president of the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement party, said Biya’s latest absence had created a “glaring institutional vacuum”. “A country cannot be governed by remote control while critical socioeconomic challenges go unaddressed,” he said.

Last November, Biya was sworn in for his eighth consecutive seven-year term, a month after a presidential election marred by widespread allegations of irregularities and voter suppression. Although the Constitutional Council dismissed post-electoral complaints by opposition parties, many of them refused to recognise the outcome, arguing that the election had further eroded public confidence in Cameroon’s democratic institutions.

Biya has yet to name a government since being sworn in for his latest term. With parliamentary and municipal elections expected in early 2027, many are worried that the ripple effect of that and his prolonged absence could disrupt the electoral cycle.

Cameroon has the largest economy in central Africa, but unemployment rates, high inflation and poor public infrastructure are stymieing the prospects of its young people, who make up about two-thirds of its estimated population of 30.6 million.

“Politics should be about serving the people, but the [ruling] CPDM [party] appears more interested in holding on to power than addressing the concerns of Cameroonians,” said Kohtem Sambit, the secretary general of the opposition Movement for Patriotism and People’s Prosperity.

“The minister of the economy borrowed more than 21bn [Central African francs] in the name of the Cameroonian people, saying it was approved by Mr Biya,” Sambit told the Guardian. “How do we justify this? You do not see the person who signed, nor do you know his whereabouts. That debt will be paid by the public.”

Referring to Owona’s remarks, Sambit said: “If the president is on annual leave, he is still accountable to the Cameroonian people because he is paid with taxpayers’ money. His whereabouts should therefore be disclosed.”

Another opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, has argued that the issue is not whether the president has a constitutional right to travel, but rather the government’s failure to explain the extension of what had initially been described as a brief private visit. Another opposition leader, Patricia Tomaïno Ndam Njoya, of the Cameroon Democratic Union, has called for an impartial procedure to determine any “temporary or permanent incapacity of the head of state”.

In April, parliament reintroduced the office of vice-president as part of a constitutional overhaul, but the position has yet to be filled, leaving Cameroon without a designated deputy should the president become incapacitated. As Biya’s son and stepson reportedly jockey for position, public disagreements between cabinet ministers have become commonplace.

Last week, the party’s secretary general, Jean Nkuete, convened a rare meeting of senior party officials. The CPDM described the gathering only as an “important working session” and did not release an agenda or further details. Attempts to obtain comment from senior party figures were unsuccessful. Several party officials have declined interview requests, citing personal reasons.

For the businessman Nji Lucas, the president’s prolonged absence has become an economic concern. “I do not have confidence because it is almost as if the country is on autopilot,” he said. “No serious investor wants to commit resources in a country where there is uncertainty over political leadership. There is no trust, and investors require certainty before making long-term decisions.”

Culled from The Guardian