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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Giovanni Wanneh in Buea and Eromo Egbejule in Accra

Fifty-three days and counting: 93-year-old leader’s record absence fuels health speculation

Paul Biya speaks into microphones at a lectern, with Chantal Biya sitting to his left, in a crowded outdoor venue
Paul Biya giving a speech in Maroua, Cameroon, last October, with his wife, Chantal, sitting beside him. Photograph: Xinhua/Alamy

A record 53-day absence by the world’s oldest head of state has renewed speculation in his native Cameroon about whether he is dead or alive, even though discussing his health is illegal in the country.

Paul Biya has not been seen in public since 7 June, when the 93-year-old left for Switzerland for what officials described as a “brief private stay” alongside his wife, Chantal.

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