Cameroon’s unseen president

CAMEROONIANS have long adjusted to not having their president, 91-year-old Paul Biya, around, but until now, no one has ever asked them not to speculate on his whereabouts- or his well-being.  Yet, this is exactly what the authorities in the Central African country have just done. In a missive dated October 9 and sent to regional governors by Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji, “debate in the media about the president’s condition” was prohibited, with a warning that offenders “will face the full force of the law.” To dispel any doubt as to his seriousness, the Interior Minister further “ordered the governors to set up units to monitor broadcasts on private media channels, as well as social networks.”

The immediate backdrop to this extraordinary communication is the recent spike in rumours about President Biya’s condition, with increased speculation that his health has deteriorated, and some people insisting, albeit with little by way of evidence, that the president had died in a Swiss (or is it French?) hospital. Whether or not the rumours are true, there is no doubt that the Interior Minister’s letter to the regional governors is the worst way to go about reassuring Cameroonians, who have every reason to wonder about the medical condition of a 91-year-old man who has not been seen in public since attending a China-Africa forum in Beijing in early September and failed to appear as scheduled at a summit in France. Besides, Mr. Nji’s attempt to checkmate conversations about the president’s health by calling it a “matter of national security” can only heighten suspicion that the authorities have something to hide.

We couldn’t be more pleased that Cameroonian journalists and opposition figures have called out the Interior Minister, insisting that “The president is elected by Cameroonians and it’s just normal that they worry about his whereabouts.” Angela Quintal, head of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Africa Program, accused Mr. Nji of “trying to hide behind national security on such a major issue of national importance.” We endorse these sentiments and support ordinary Cameroonians in their legitimate and constitutional desire to know where their leader is, and in what condition.

That said, we acknowledge that the questions raised by the Biya saga go beyond Cameroon; on the contrary, they invite reflections on the quality of governance across Africa. Contra what obtains in the advanced liberal economies where members of the public are entitled to and furnished with up-to-date information on the health of their leaders, African leaders are notoriously secretive about their health (sometimes even their age), a situation which can only give rise to the kind of conjecturing and conspiracy theories being witnessed in Cameroon.

Speculations about Biya’s health are indicative of the crisis of transparency in Cameroon and by the same token many African countries. The solution is not to ban people from speaking, but to honour their constitutional right to accurate information about those entrusted with public office at various levels.

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