President Paul Biya is in Geneva, Switzerland, and in good health, the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic has said, dispelling rumours about the President’s whereabouts and state of health.
In a statement released Tuesday, October 8, the Director of Civil Cabinet at the Presidency, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, dismissed rumors that the President is ill or dead.
The information from the Civil Cabinet comes after a month-long absence of President Paul Biya from national and international engagements, igniting public and media concerns.
“For some time now, a few malicious individuals on social media have attempted to make people believe that the President of the Republic is seriously ill, or even deceased,” the Civil Cabinet’s statement said.
It reassured “all our compatriots as well as the international community about the excellent health of the Head of State, who is working and attending to his duties in Geneva, from where he has never departed since his arrival from Beijing.”
The statement condemned speculations that have inundated the social media space lately, describing them as abuses of the right to freedom of expression.
However, Cameroonians are curious on seeing their president perform his duties.
He has not been seen since he left onboard an aircraft from Beijing on September 8 after attending the China-Africa summit.
He has since not returned to Cameroon and also failed to carry out some international engagements, evident from his absence at the UN General Assembly and the just-ended La Francophonie summit in France.