Sawt Falasteen - Cameroon's president Biya: absent candidate in election

In power since 1982 and seeking an eighth term in office in the October 12 polls, Biya left the central African country on Sunday for a "private trip to Europe", his office said, without elaborating.

Diplomatic sources said the leader, who is rarely seen in public, was in Geneva, his favourite destination for personal visits.

The trip comes a week after his daughter Brenda called on Cameroonians not to vote for him, in a TikTok video that she later retracted.

A weeks-long trip to Switzerland by Biya last September had fuelled rumours of his death, forcing the government to issue a statement reassuring the public about his health.

This time, Biya appeared in good health in a video of his departure released by the presidency, showing him accompanied by his wife Chantal and three advisors.

But the president was absent on Thursday from his scheduled appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, instead represented by his foreign minister.

- 'Illusion' of health -

Biya is set to contend for another seven-year term against 11 other candidates.

His RDPC party is rumoured to have scheduled a rally on Sunday in the northern city of Maroua.

The party has not confirmed how many events it will organise and whether Biya will participate.

He announced his candidacy on July 13 on X but has not directly addressed his fellow citizens since then.

"Initially, there were rumours that the president himself was not very motivated to run again," and that his aides pushed him to do so, said Arrey Elvis Ntui, senior analyst for the International Crisis Group.

David Kiwuwa, head of the School of International Studies at the University of Nottingham's China campus, pointed to Biya's age and health.

"The more he stays out of the public eye, the more he maintains the illusion that he is mentally and physically suited for the office," Kiwuwa said.

The opposition, meanwhile, remained in discussions, attempting to name a consensus candidate.

"Many Cameroonians are frustrated that the opposition, which has been trying for nearly 30 years to replace President Biya, is still unable at this stage to agree," said Ntui.

- Criticised by daughter -

With the opposition divided, Biya is favourite to win the election -- despite the recent embarrassment involving his daughter.

Late on September 17, Brenda Biya, a regular at the luxury InterContinental hotel in Geneva, published her shock video on TikTok, calling on voters to abandon her father.

It circulated widely before being deleted from her account, sparking a wave of reactions that prompted her to post an apology days later.

"I know nothing about politics. Don't follow my advice," she said in the follow-up video on September 21.

Brenda Biya has also faced legal troubles, having been convicted of defaming a Cameroonian-Nigerian artist who accused her of insults and lies on social media.

The judgement noted that her family "frequently stays at the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva, where rooms are rented year-round".

A 2018 investigation of economic crime by a consortium of journalists found Paul Biya had spent some 4.5 years of his presidency abroad, largely in Switzerland, at an estimated cost of $65 million.

- 'His people suffer' -

An association of Cameroonians in Europe is organising a demonstration Friday in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva, protesting Biya's latest stay in Switzerland.

The demonstration was initially organised to denounce the rejection of the presidential candidacy of Maurice Kamto, Biya's main opponent and runner up in the 2018 election, but has taken on a new dimension.

"We want to chase Paul Biya out of Europe" and "send him back to Cameroon", Diosky Moresmo, spokesperson for a Cameroonian diaspora association in Belgium, told AFP.

Biya visits Europe "with the money of the Cameroonian people" who have "no water, no electricity, no hospitals", the group said.

Nearly a quarter of Cameroon's population lives under the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

"Every day, Cameroonians die," the protest group said.

"How can he rest peacefully in Geneva, at taxpayers' expense, while his people suffer?"

M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST