POWER AT A STANDSTILL IN CAMEROON

This image is Cameroon in one frame.

A 93-year-old president in a blue suit, holding a railing to stand, eyes heavy, trying to steady himself at an official ceremony.

Behind him, the flag. In front of him, the military. But in front of him , no future.

This is not a man ruling. This is power on life support.

Paul Biya has ruled Cameroon since 6 November 1982. 44 years. For almost half of Cameroon's population, he is the only president they have ever known. He is Africa's longest-serving president and the world's oldest serving head of state.

On 12 October 2025, at age 92, he won an 8th seven-year term with 53.66% of the vote, against his former minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary who got 35.19%. The Constitutional Council declared him winner, but the opposition rejected it as frä√d and prōtèsts erupted , at least 48 people d!ed in the unrest.

If he completes this term, he will be 99 years old in office.

THE STANDSTILL:

Since that disputed election, Cameroon has been frozen.

(1). No government: Since his re-election, Biya has not named a new cabinet. The country is running on autopilot.

(2). No vice-president: In April 2026, parliament voted to restore the vice-presidency, abolished since 1972. This person would succeed Biya if he can no longer rule. As of October 2026, he has still not named anyone to that position.

(3). Governing from abroad: On 7 June 2026, he left for what was called a "brief private visit" to Europe. He returned on 20 August  after more than 10 weeks in Switzerland, mostly at a Geneva hotel. The government said he was working remotely, but Cameroonians on social media joked that their president was "visiting" his own country. 

By 2018, he had already spent 4 and a half years of his presidency abroad on private trips. That number has only grown.

THE QUESTION NO ONE CAN ANSWER:

Who is actually ruling Cameroon?

- A country with 60% youth úñèmployment.

- A country with a 9-year Anglophone wàr in the Northwest and Southwest that has k!led over 6,000 people and displaced 700,000.

- A country where the president campaigns from Switzerland and rules by proxy.

His supporters say it's continuity and experience. His critics say a whole generation has been held höstàgé by one man's refusal to prepare a succession.

This picture is not about age-shamíñg because all of us would age, my mother is aged. It is about a system that has refused to renew itself. When power stands still, the whole country stands still with it.

In 1982, when Biya came to power, Ronald Reagan was US President, the internet didn't exist, and most Cameroonians alive today were not yet born.

In 2026, he is still there  holding on to a railing.

Cameroon is not moving forward. It is waiting.

And a nation of 30 Millíön people cannot wait forever.

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