Paul Biya has been living in Geneva since the beginning of August, where he rents an entire floor of the 5-star Intercontinental Hotel. The last time the Cameroonian president appeared in public was at the beginning of September, at the China-Africa summit in Beijing. He was not in New York to attend the UN General Assembly and La Francophonie summit earlier this month.
Earlier this week, a government spokesman denied that the president had died in a hospital in Paris or Geneva. The Cameroonian ambassador to France said that the president is in good health and resides in Geneva.
According to many journalists, not allowing the Cameroonian press to report on the president’s condition amounts to censorship. One of them told Reuters, “The president was elected by Cameroonians, and it is natural for them to wonder where he is.” One journalist told the BBC: “I see this as a violation of our rights.” The man does not want to reveal his name. The press in Cameroon is by no means free, and in the past journalists have ended up in prison for not adhering to regulations.
