Cameroon prohibits any discussion regarding the health of its 91-year-old President, Biya

A letter shared by the interior ministry stated that Cameroon has prohibited any discussion regarding the health of 91-year-old President Paul Biya. This decision was made in response to the widespread speculation that Biya was unwell, which was driven by his protracted absence.

The authorities issued statements earlier this week claiming that the president was in excellent health and on a private visit to Geneva. They dismissed reports that he had fallen ill as “pure fantasy.”

Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji stated in a letter to regional governors dated Oct. 9 that the president’s health was a matter of national security.

Consequently, “all media discourse regarding the president’s health is now strictly prohibited.” Nji stated that the full measure of the law will be applied to offenders.

He directed the governors to establish divisions to oversee broadcasts on private media channels and social networks.

Cameroon, which has had only two presidents since its independence from France and Britain in the early 1960s, is expected to experience a complex succession crisis if Biya were to become ill and unable to continue in office or passes away. Cameroon is a producer of oil and cocoa.

The National Communication Council, Cameroon’s media regulator, was unavailable for immediate comment.

The action was criticized as an act of state censorship.

Hycenth Chia, a journalist and talk show host on privately owned television channel Canal2 International, stated, “The president is elected by Cameroonians, and it is only natural that they are concerned about his whereabouts.”

“We see liberal discussions on the health of Joe Biden and other world leaders, but here it is a taboo,” he indicated to Reuters.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group for press freedom, expressed its profound apprehension.

“It is outrageous to attempt to conceal oneself behind national security on a matter of such national significance,” stated Angela Quintal, the director of the CPJ’s Africa Program.

Biya has not been observed in public since participating in a China-Africa forum in Beijing in early September. The public discourse regarding his health was further exacerbated by his failure to attend a summit in France as scheduled last weekend.