Cameroon’s president accused of merely ‘visiting’ his nation after Swiss stays

Paul Biya has been president of Cameroon since 1982. He is serving his eighth term, after reelection last year. At the end of the term, he’ll be 99.

Nearly half the country has known no other president.

But that’s not even the most unusual fact about his authoritarian rule, compared with one that gained a renewed round of attention in recent days: He appears to spend much of his time in Switzerland.

His return to Cameroon this week, as it struggles with widespread unemployment and a secessionist conflict that has been going on for close to a decade, sparked a wave of online criticism from people who felt as through the country was receiving an official visit — from its own president.

“President of Cameroon, the 93-year-old Paul Biya, is expected to visit Cameroon next week!” a viral tongue-in-cheek headline reads.

“The people of Cameroon, I wonder how you feel because how do you tell me that a whole head of state will be visiting you,” user Pr7ation wrote on TikTok.

In 2024, Biya was away for about two months, and this year for almost the same period, from June 7 to Aug. 20, having accumulated other, longer stints in previous years. In total, he was estimated to have spent 4½ years abroad in private visits since he became president, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project — as of 2018. Since then, the figure has only climbed.

In his 2025 campaign, he was largely absent from rallies.

The government has defended the trips, dismissing reports of his failing health. Biya manages to operate the country remotely, the government says, even with the vice presidency vacant.

Cameroon’s government did not respond immediately to a request for comment on his travels.