President Paul Biya, who has been absent from Cameroon for nearly two months, announced a sweeping reshuffle of the army on Monday. The 93‑year‑old leader named officials to key positions and promoted five colonels to brigadier general.
One of the new generals, Raymond Jean Charles Beko’o Abondo, was immediately reappointed as commander of the elite presidential guard, a post he has held since 2013. The reshuffle is part of a pattern of military moves during periods of intense scrutiny, a practice familiar to Biya’s long‑standing administration.
The changes were issued from Geneva, where Biya has lived since leaving Cameroon on 7 June for a “brief private stay.” His prolonged absence has triggered speculation about his health and raised concerns over a leadership vacuum.
Bioulists note that the president’s absence comes after a 2025 coup in neighboring Gabon and a contested eighth‑term election that secured his grip on power. Critics point out he has yet to announce a new cabinet or a vice‑president, and press freedom groups have decried restrictions on reporting his health.
The communications minister, René Emmanuel Sadi, reassured the public that Biya was alive and would return soon, while opposition leaders argue that France’s remote control hampers governance.
Despite the country’s lack of a visible head of state, the president continues to issue decrees, including loan agreements with international financial institutions, the latest of which involves significant fiscal decisions.
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