PREVIEW
Interior Minister says any discussion by the media about the leader’s condition will ‘face the full force of the law’
Confusion and farce surround the health and whereabouts of 91-year-old President Paul Biya, who state officials now say is on a private visit to Geneva but has not been seen for over a month.
Questioning Biya’s health in public is now a criminal offence. Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji stated in a letter to regional governors dated 9 October that discussing the President’s health was a matter of national security.
‘Any debate in the media about the president’s condition is therefore strictly prohibited. Offenders will face the full force of the law,’ Nji said.
Biya has not been seen in public since attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in early September, and government sources have previously said that he has been undergoing medical treatment in Paris or Geneva (AC Vol 65 No 20, Biya missing in action).
The President’s absence has come, ironically, after a flurry of international trips choreographed by his close advisors to demonstrate his vigour and health ahead of seeking an eighth term as President in elections next year.
The latest ministerial moves will do nothing to end speculation that Biya is seriously ill or, possibly, that the communications blackout is a ruse for the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement to control the succession process. Months of tense positioning between Biya’s aides, including his son Franck – touted as a potential successor – preceded the confirmation that Biya would seek another seven-year term (AC Vol 65 No 6, Contenders spar in the waiting room).
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