Cameroon’s Ministry of Communication issued an official statement on Tuesday, October 8, denying growing speculation about President Paul Biya’s state of health.
The Cameroonian government firmly rejected the claims about President Biya’s health, describing them as ‘fantasy’ and ‘pure imagination’.
The statement criticised certain television channels for relaying such unverified information in order to gain rating.
According to the statement, President Biya granted himself “a brief private stay in Europe” after his active participation in the China-Africa Summit.
The government assures citizens that, despite his physical absence from the country, the Cameroonian head of state remains ‘attentive to developments in national life’.
It called on Cameroonians as well as international partners and friendly countries not to allow themselves to be influenced by what it describes as “manoeuvres of disinformation, instrumentalisation and destabilisation.”
These actions are attributed to “pernicious groups and individuals” acting for “ulterior motives.”
The statement concludes by affirming that President Biya is “in good health’ and that he will ‘return to Cameroon in the next few days.”
This statement comes at a time when the prolonged absence and state of health of President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, are regularly the subject of speculation.
At the age of 91 years in 2024, Paul Biya is one of the world’s oldest heads of state.
AC/Sf/fss/gik/APA