Long stay abroad: What ministers defending Biya are not saying!.

When Pan-African magazine, Jeune Afrique, disclosed on June 16, 2026, with the headline that “Paul Biya en Suisse: Coulisses d’un nouveau séjour médical du président camerounais,” ["Paul Biya in Switzerland: Behind the scenes of another medical stay for the Cameroonian President"], the Minister of Communication and Government Spokesperson, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, in a swept reaction on June 18, 2026, refuted the story as "malicious and unfounded speculation".

He, however, clarified that President Biya was in Geneva, not receiving medical care, but diligently managing the affairs of the country. 

Taking the defense relay on July 21, 2026, Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education and Communication Secretary of the ruling CPDM party, said in a statement that: "There is no power vacuum at the highest level of the State".

The statement came amidst the controversy surrounding the President's prolonged absence from the country for 45 days then. 

Regarding the alleged power vacuum, Prof Fame Ndongo declared that such a claim is "legal, even political or logical barbarism".

The Minister of State then pointed out that no legal or regulatory provision in Cameroon sets a legal duration for the President's absence from the country.

“Therefore, no one can apply a "non-existent Constitutional provision" to Paul Biya. Such an attempt would stem from "the fertile and wandering imagination of those who subscribe to the law of quick fix," he asserted.

He added that the President is   at work, meticulously following the files submitted to him by his staff; either in person or through the electronic means known to all.

The Minister, Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, is also reported to have told Jeune Afrique that: “The President is doing very well. He has neither undergone surgery nor has ever been hospitalised. He is at his hotel, where he works normally every day, just as if he were in Yaounde".

He divulged that: "Some people within the inner circle are waiting for his [Paul Biya's] passage, but they may leave before he does," Mvondo Ayolo told Jeune Afrique.

His narrative, like that of Prof Fame Ndongo and Sadi Rene, which The Guardian Post does not question, was re-echoed by the ruling party’s propaganda newspaper, L’Action.  

But rather than quelling the controversy, it has only reignited it. 

Yesterday, France’s authoritative newspaper, Le Monde, reported that the long trip “revives an equally sensitive, if not more so, question: that of his succession, which the divided Presidential clan prefers to leave unresolved. In Yaounde, the issue is once again at the heart of discussions in the press and within the opposition”.

The same day, Radio France Internationale, RFI, said: “More than 50 days later, no details have been given about his whereabouts or a possible return date, even though the Cameroonian President is 93 years old. This long absence and government's silence are fuelling rumors and concerns about the continuity of the State: opposition parties are speaking of a "power vacuum", "autopilot," “a de facto exile” or a government "working remotely"”. 

It’s been a game of ping pong with the media and opposition party leaders attacking and the regime defending energetically. But what is emerging is contradiction from the defence.

The Deputy Communication Secretary of the CPDM Central Committee, who is also the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Gregoire Owona, in his own saga fuelling the debate, has described President Biya as a "civil servant of the Republic," who is entitled to annual leave and could legally be absent for up to 80 days, citing the Labour Code. 

Paradoxically, the Labour Code is not applicable to civil servants in Cameroon and does not permit employees to work while on vacation.

President Biya is working as confirmed by three officials- ministers of Communication, Higher Education and the Director of the Civil Cabinet.

What the ministers defending the Head of State’s long stay abroad are not saying is the cost of his stay. Media reports, based on the rates which are public knowledge at his hotel’s website, say his “51-night stay with his entourage is estimated to have cost between FCFA 2.68 billion and FCFA 3.37 billion, based solely on accommodation”.

If true, is it being paid from personal pocket since it is a “private” vacation or by the Cameroonian tax payer?; since going by his disciples, “he is working and monitoring affairs back home from abroad”.

No official has had the courage to talk about the cost of the Head of State’s long stay.

In what looks like uncoordinated outings, the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Gregoire Owona, has in his outing, contradicted his peers of the Ministries of Communication, Higher Education and Director of Civil Cabinet who say the President is at work, thus deserves a salary.

Minister Owona is known to have a great sense of humour with a broad smile but it is not a cynical issue. 

It highlights division in the house, or even a “mole” in the system, which creates a credibility gap among the governed. 

At The Guardian Post, we join millions of compatriots praying for the Head of State’s safe return, so he can resume work at the Unity Palace “in the coming days”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3862 of Wednesday July 29, 2026