Anchored: Cameroon's President Paul Biya. (Lintao Chan/Reuters)
aPresident Joe Biden, 81, withdrew from this year's US presidential election due to concerns about his age and mental health.
Similar concerns are swirling about Cameroon's President Paul Biya.
At 91, he is the world's oldest president, but he shows no signs of stepping down anytime soon.
Perhaps due to the president's perceived weaknesses, criticism is now louder than ever, coming not only from disaffected young people but also from established opposition parties and civil society groups.
The increasingly fierce battle for succession has led to voices of discontent even within the ruling elite.
They know that Mr Biya's hold on power can endure under any circumstances short of his own death, which may not be far off.
The Biya regime has responded with a familiar tactic: brutally cracking down on dissent.
The most high-profile recent example is Junior N'Gombe, a 23-year-old who works as a barber by day and a digital activist by night, campaigning for democratic change and encouraging his 35,000 followers on TikTok to register to vote.
Last month, N'Gombe was outraged by the arrest of another outspoken activist, Steve Akam (known on TikTok as Ramon Cotta), in neighbouring Gabon.
Akam had been in exile in Gabon for 10 years, but was suddenly taken into custody by local authorities and handed over to Cameroonian authorities at the border.
Human rights groups say this is a clear violation of extradition procedures.
Akamu disappeared shortly after and has not been seen since.
N'Gombe took to social media to condemn Akam's arrest.
“You are using all your ingenuity to hunt down people who criticise or condemn the system of governance, people who have dissenting views. Why not use this energy for something positive?” N'Gombe asked in the TikTok video.
Shortly thereafter, N'Gombe was arrested by three plainclothes agents.
He was transported in a military vehicle to the capital, Yaoundé, and detained at the notorious Ministry of Defense facility previously identified by Human Rights Watch as a place where “torture is widespread.”
A week later, he was released on bail from the military court, but although he has not been formally charged with any crime, he may still have to appear in court.
“His arrest is in violation of the law,” said Ng'ombe's lawyer, Akere Muna.
Dozens of opposition leaders, journalists, political activists, human rights defenders and other government critics have been jailed or exiled in recent months, according to Ngo Mbe Maximilien, secretary-general of the Central African Network of Human Rights Defenders.
“The political and human rights situation is of great concern,” Maximilianne said.
Human Rights Watch offered a similar assessment.
“For many years, the Cameroonian government has cracked down on opposition parties and freedom of speech, imprisoning political activists, journalists and dissidents.
“Ahead of the 2025 elections, the government is increasingly restricting freedom of expression and association,” it said in a statement last week.
The Cameroonian government itself has warned that criticism of President Biya and state institutions will not be tolerated.
“It is unacceptable for our compatriots, whether they are party leaders or opinion leaders, to use disrespectful, insulting or offensive language against those who are legitimately and happily governing the destiny of Cameroon,” government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Saadi said last month.
As a result, the regional government governing Yaoundé decreed that it would deny entry to the capital to anyone it deemed likely to offend the Head of State, organize riots or cause serious disruptions to public order.
“It would be ideal to prevent chaos rather than restore law and order,” said Emmanuel Mariel Jigdent, senior Mufundi district chief and an appointee of President Biya.
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