Cameroon's 91-year-old president is rumored to be in ill health, and we're allowed to tell you that because we're not in Cameroon. The country has banned any discussion of Paul Biya's health, with Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji declaring that it is a matter of national security, reports Reuters. In a letter to regional governors this week, Nji said debate in the media about the president's health is "strictly prohibited," adding: "Offenders will face the full force of the law." The minister told governors to monitor social media and private media channels. Officials have dismissed claims that Biya is sick as "pure fantasy."
Biya, president since 1982, is only the second president the West African country has had since it gained independence from France in 1960. The Guardian notes that he spends much of his time in Geneva, Switzerland, where there is often an entire floor reserved for long stays by Biya and his entourage. Earlier this week, officials including Cameroon's ambassador to France denied that Biya had died in Geneva or in a French hospital, saying that the president was in the Swiss city and was in good health. Biya was last seen in public at the China-Africa forum in Beijing last month. He failed to appear at a summit of French-speaking countries in France last week.
Journalists and press freedoms groups have strongly criticized the reporting restrictions. "We see liberal discussions on the health of Joe Biden and other world leaders, but here it is a taboo," Cameroonian journalist and talk show host Hycenth Chia tells Reuters. The president's critics say it's time for a younger leader to deal with crises including a rebellion by English-speaking separatists in the west of the country. Biya's supporters, however, are urging him to stand for another seven-year term when the current one expires next year. Some Cameroonians see his role "as more symbolic and distant," akin almost to a constitutional monarch, the BBC reports. (More Paul Biya stories.)
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