Cameroon\u2019s government has banned the media from discussing the health of President Paul Biya, Africa\u2019s second-longest-ruling leader, amid rumours the 91-year-old is gravely ill, according to a document obtained by AFP.<\/p>\n
Biya, the world\u2019s oldest leader, has not made a public appearance since early September, fuelling a swirl of rumours online that the veteran president\u2019s health is failing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe head of state is the principal institution of the republic, and discussions on his condition are a matter of national security,\u201d said the document addressed to regional governors, which was dated October 9 and signed by Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll discussion in the media on the president\u2019s condition is therefore officially banned.\u201d<\/p>\n
The document, which bore a red stamp reading \u201chighly urgent\u201d, added that anyone violating the order would \u201cface the full force of the law\u201d.<\/p>\n
It ordered regional governors to create \u201cmonitoring cells\u201d charged with tracking content in private media, including social networks.<\/p>\n
Biya has been Cameroon\u2019s president for more than 41 years, second in Africa only to 82-year-old Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has held power in Equatorial Guinea for 45 years.<\/p>\n
Biya\u2019s last public appearance was at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing last month.<\/p>\n
He did not take part in the subsequent United Nations General Assembly opening in New York or a summit of French-speaking countries in Paris.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s office issued a statement Tuesday saying Biya was in \u201cexcellent health\u201d, condemning rumours to the contrary as \u201cdisinformation\u201d.<\/p>\n
He \u201cis working and attending to his affairs in Geneva,\u201d said a government spokesman, adding Biya would return to Cameroon \u201cin the coming days\u201d.<\/p>\n
Cameroon\u2019s government has banned the media from discussing the health of President Paul Biya, Africa\u2019s second-longest-ruling leader, amid rumours the 91-year-old is gravely ill, according to a document obtained by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n