Cameroon – Paul Biya nowhere to be found: what the Palace is really saying

Paul Biya, 93, Cameroon’s president since 1982, has not been seen in public since attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in early September 2026. On October 15, rumors of his death spread on X; the following day, his civil cabinet director, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, denied them to Jeune Afrique. On October 22, The Washington Post wrote that Biya appeared to spend much of his time in Switzerland, while no new public image of the president had emerged.