cameroonian president paul
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Cameroonian President Paul Biya reshuffles military leadership amidst prolonged absence in Switzerland

Cameroon’s 93-year-old President, Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitting head of state, has enacted a strategic reshuffle of the country’s military leadership from abroad, issuing decrees to promote senior officers and appoint new commanders while remaining in Geneva, Switzerland.

Among the key appointments, Biya promoted five colonels to the rank of brigadier general. Notably, Brigadier General Raymond Jean Charles Beko’o Abondo was reappointed to lead the elite Presidential Guard, an essential security unit responsible for the president’s personal protection that he has commanded since 2013.

The administrative shifts coincide with growing domestic anxiety regarding Biya’s absence from Cameroon, which has extended to nearly two months following his departure on 7 June for what officials termed a “brief private stay”. Opponents and civil society groups have voiced concern over an institutional vacuum, noting that a newly created vice-presidential seat remains vacant and a promised cabinet overhaul has yet to materialise.

Government representatives, including Communication Minister René Emmanuel Sadi, dismissed claims of administrative paralysis or health crises, maintaining that the president remains fully operational and continues to sign official decrees and financial agreements from abroad.

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