Cameroon’s ‘Absent’ President Biya Boosts Personal Security Cover From Geneva
Watch this video as Firstpost explains how Cameroon’s 93-year-old president, Paul Biya, is asserting his grip on power despite having been unseen in public for nearly two months. Operating from a luxury suite in Geneva, Switzerland, Biya issued sweeping presidential decrees to overhaul Cameroon’s top military brass. The world’s oldest serving head of state promoted key officers and restructured his presidential protection units to secure his core power base from afar. The decree elevates five colonels to brigadier generals and reappoints General Raymond Jean Charles Beko’o Abondo to head the elite Presidential Guard. By surrounding himself with trusted loyalists across four major security units and appointing Hippolyte Ebaka as Chief of Defence Staff, Biya aims to counter health speculation and preempt potential instability. Opposition leaders, including CRM Vice-President Mamadou Mota, criticise the leader’s long stay abroad, warning of a dangerous institutional vacuum. Despite government denials of his hospitalisation, unanswered questions mount regarding unfilled cabinet positions and governance conducted via remote paperwork. Alyson Le Grange brings you more on this story on Firstpost Africa.
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