Cameroonian President Paul Biya Marks 40 Years in Power
FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2018 file photo, Cameroon's President Paul Biya, of the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party, during the Presidential elections in Yaounde, Cameroon. President Paul Biya is marking 40 years in power but staying out of the spotlight as questions swirl around the 89-year-old leader. Biya has not appeared in public since French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Central African nation in July, (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
By JOEL KOUAM, Associated Press
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — President Paul Biya of Cameroon marked 40 years in power Sunday but stayed out of the spotlight as questions swirled about the 89-year-old who is the only leader most of the country's people have ever known.
Biya has not appeared in public since French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Central African nation in July, Decrees and photos of Biya receiving various diplomats are regularly posted on the president's social media accounts.
An event was scheduled at City Hall in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, to commemorate the anniversary of his presidency, but Biya was not expected to attend.
Nearly 100 young adults marched through the streets of the country's largest city, Douala, days earlier carrying banners with photos of the president and messages that included “Paul Biya: 40 years of stability, freedom and democracy.”
Darling Nguevo, a critic of the Biya regime, alleged the government paid the marchers to show such support. He and other opposition sympathizers said they planned to wear black on Sunday.
“November 6 is considered a day of national mourning because Mr. Biya inherited a rich, prosperous and growing country," Nguevo said. “And he set about unraveling every sector of life and society.”
“Corruption has made its bed in the country. So has bad governance. Paul Biya is old and his public appearances are rare, and this is happening against the backdrop of the succession battle,” he added.
Biya is Africa's second-longest serving leader: The president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has been in power since 1979.
Biya was Cameroon's prime minister and became president in 1982 after his predecessor, Cameroon's first president following the country's independence from France, stepped down due to health reasons.
The majority of appointments Biya made in the ensuing years were members of his own southern Beti ethnic group, which quickly grew to dominate senior prefect positions and the prime minister’s office.