On Sunday, October 6, a group of Cameroonians living in the diaspora protested outside the Hopital d’instruction des Armées Percy in Clamart, France, where the 91-year-old President of Cameroon is reportedly hospitalised.
Demonstrators called for President Paul Biya to return to Cameroon for medical treatment, emphasizing that he has been in power for 41 years. Concerns about Mr. Biya’s health have surged in recent days after he missed several key international events, including the UN General Assembly and the recent La Francophonie summit.
The Cameroonian Presidency has not disclosed any information about the president’s whereabouts or his health status since his return from China on September 8. Amid unverified reports of his hospitalization in France, activists gathered outside the facility, carrying anti-Biya placards.
Chanting slogans and branding Biya an “assassin,” protesters urged him to “release all political prisoners detained in Cameroon.” They also sang anti-Biya songs, holding him accountable for the challenges faced during his 41 years in power, including the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 6,000 people.
This is not the first time Cameroonians in the diaspora are protesting against Biya’s stay abroad to receive medical treatment. Activist Emmanuel Kemta is known for staging protests at a hospital in Switzerland and led his group the Brigade Anti-Sardinards to Geneva in 2019, where they forced President Biya to return to Cameroon.
