Was Nationwide Blackout Linked To Biya’s Absence? Energy Minister Reacts

Cameroon experienced a nationwide blackout that lasted over three hours, affecting major cities like Yaounde and Douala, the political and economic capitals, on Saturday, October 19.

MMI received messages from Cameroonians residing in other cities confirming that there was a blackout. “There is no electricity here, and we do not even know how to watch Ngannou’s fight against Ferreira.”

On Saturday, October 19, the two MMA champions were engaged in a battle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

But power outage had hit several cities and communities in Cameroon, where fans were waiting in anticipation.

The blackout that started at 6:30 pm local time added to an already gloomy atmosphere in a country whose leader has been surreptitiously absent from public view for over 40 days.

On social media, people began raising questions when information about the nationwide outage spread. Some tried to link the blackout to President Paul Biya’s absence.

Energy Minister Reacts

According to a recent statement by the Minister of Water and Energy, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, the power outage had nothing to do with the president’s absence.

Mr Essomba has attributed the electricity cut to “an accident” that “occurred in the Southern Interconnected Network (RIS), resulting in a disruption of electricity supply in all regions connected to the network”.

The southern interconnected grid is Cameroon’s largest power line, supplying six of the country’s 10 regions.

This covers Yaounde, Douala, Bafoussam, and Bamenda, the nation’s four largest cities.

According to Minister Eloundou Essomba, “a severe lightning strike” that “hit the 225 kV Songloulou-Mangombe line, triggering a domino effect that led to the collapse of the RIS” was what caused the electricity outage.

He added that the National Electricity Transmission Company (SONATREL) fully mobilised its technicians to restore power supply.

The Minister’s assurances proved accurate—power returned around 9:30 pm—but uncertainty remains about a stable supply in the future, considering the frequent power cuts in Cameroon.

Eneo, the electricity management company, announced a program detailing blackouts in many cities, including Douala, Yaounde, Buea, and Limbe, before the blackout occurred.

The event spanned from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 19.

The team strictly followed the programme, but a sudden nationwide blackout on Saturday evening felt strange.

Cameroon experiences a strange phenomenon—the President has spent more time out of the country than ever during his 41-year rule.

Rumours about the health or possible death of 91-year-old Paul Biya swirl, yet he has not appeared publicly for more than 40 days.

With a plethora of other issues, including badly deteriorated roads, facing the nation, Cameroonians would not expect electricity to add to their woes.