• Cameroon
• Paul Biya
• Protest

GENERATIONAL DISCONNECT AND SUCCESSION CRISIS LOOMS AS BIYA EXTENDS 43-YEAR RULE

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  CapitalTimesNews / 1 month
• 0
• 2 min read

As 92-year-old Paul Biya begins his eighth term as Cameroon’s president, a profound generational disconnect highlights the nation’s political crisis. The median age in Cameroon is 18.9, while Biya is one of 17 African leaders over the age of 70. Biya, who has spent 43 years in power and removed presidential term limits in 2008, has made no known plan for succession. “He is old, he’s unhealthy,” said analyst Hubert Kinkoh. “If he should die in office, there is no clear successor. So there’s a risk of political struggles.” The disconnect has even touched the first family; Biya’s daughter, Brenda Biya, openly condemned him on TikTok, telling her followers not to vote for her father, who she said had made the nation suffer. Analysts suggest Biya may be quietly grooming his son, Franck Biya, for power, a situation lawyer Chuo Walters compared to Gabon, where the son of Omar Bongo succeeded him after his death. “He’s a very discreet man and he always likes to surprise people,” Walters said. The election, the most consequential in decades, has fueled resentment among young Cameroonians, who point to Biya’s frequent trips to Switzerland with a large entourage, racking up hotel bills estimated at $65 million, as symbolic of a government deaf to their suffering.