Record absence of world’s oldest head of state reignites health speculation
Cameroon’s president has not made statement or been seen since leaving for ‘brief private stay’ at Swiss hotel on 7 June A record 53-day absence of the world’s oldest head of state has renewed speculation in his native Cameroon about whether he is dead or alive, even though discussing his health is illegal in the country . On 7 June, 93-year-old Paul Biya departed for Switzerland for what officials described as a “brief private stay” alongside his wife, Chantal. Almost two months later, neither the president nor the first lady have addressed the country or been seen publicly. Biya, who took office in 1982 after a seven-year stint as prime minister, has taken increasingly long absences from Cameroon in recent years, spending much of his time at the five-star InterContinental hotel in Geneva.
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His whereabouts should therefore be disclosed.” Another opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, has argued that the issue is not whether the president has a constitutional right to travel, but rather the government’s failure to explain the extension of what had initially been described as a brief private visit.
