Cameroon Awaits Government Shake-Up as President Biya Returns

Yaounde, Cameroon – At 5pm every working day, Elvis Mbi turns on the national radio and waits for the main evening news, hoping for an announcement from President Paul Biya about a change in Cameroon's leadership.

Biya, 93, returned to Cameroon on August 20 after about 10 weeks abroad. The extended absence fuelled speculation about his health and whereabouts, including unverified reports that he had died.

His return raised hopes of a government reshuffle, but as of October 6 no new government had been formed. The vice presidency, restored through a constitutional amendment in April, also remains vacant.

"Every Cameroonian hopes that when he returned, he would change the government, but up to now there is nothing," Mbi, 39, told Al Jazeera.

In his end-of-year address on December 31, 2025, Biya promised a new government would be formed "in the coming days". More than nine months later, the promised change has yet to materialise.

Succession fears mount

The vacant vice presidency has drawn even more attention since lawmakers passed the April constitutional amendment restoring a post abolished in 1972.

Under Law No. 2026/002, issued on April 14, the president has the power to appoint and dismiss the vice president. The amendment stipulates that the vice president would temporarily assume the presidency if the office falls vacant because of the president's death, resignation or permanent incapacity. The vice president would serve the remainder of the seven-year presidential term under conditions set out in the constitution.

The reform establishes a formal succession mechanism but still leaves the appointment of the vice president to Biya, and sets no deadline for filling the post.

"We all know the president needs support to carry out the duties of the state, and that is why we are anxiously waiting for the appointment, but until now there is nothing, which leaves us extremely disappointed," Mbi said.

A controversial presidential decree said to appoint a vice president added to the speculation. In June, an individual handed a sealed envelope to Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) in Yaounde containing a document said to be a presidential decree appointing a vice president.

According to a government statement published in the state-owned Cameroon Tribune on July 1, the document appeared to bear the official seal of the presidency and a signature attributed to Biya. CRTV did not broadcast the contents of the document. The government said the decree had not been issued through the proper official process, confirmed that the individual involved had been arrested and said an investigation was under way.

According to Jude Mutah, a governance and democracy expert in Washington and director of member relations at the Corporate Council on Africa, the attention paid to the national broadcaster's evening bulletin reflects public expectations of political change. When clear information is lacking, rumours can spread, he said.

Cabral Libii, leader of the Cameroon National Reconciliation Party and an opposition figure in the 2025 presidential election, argues that appointing a vice president means more than filling a vacant post.

"The vice presidency is not just an administrative position to be filled. Appointing your vice president means consolidating your leadership," Libii said in a public appeal.

"A vice president of this stature can help reduce the succession struggles that are currently paralysing collective action," he added.

Economic uncertainty

Questions about leadership come as Cameroon faces other challenges, including a separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions and an armed insurgency linked to Boko Haram around the Lake Chad basin.

Jason Healy, a sub-Saharan Africa country risk analyst at BMI, part of Fitch Solutions, said political leadership uncertainty could weigh on investor confidence.

Healy warned that prolonged uncertainty could make some investors hesitant to commit to large, long-term projects. He also suggested that delaying the appointment may be a political calculation by Biya, helping him retain control over the timing and composition of any change.

Mbi Aziseh Azimboh, executive director of the Policy Lab for Civic Innovation and Community Solutions (POLITICOS), said prolonged uncertainty could slow government decision-making and delay reforms and public policy.

Government defends president's prerogative

The government defends Biya's right to decide when to make appointments. In an interview with RFI in August, Communication Minister and government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Sadi said the president has the authority to form a new government and to decide when to do so.

"It is entirely normal for him to take his time when handing such a high office to a fellow citizen," Sadi said.

Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, a former minister and academy coordinator of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Party, said public concern is legitimate but insisted the president has a constitutional prerogative to act when he chooses. The presidency did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment.

For Mbi, his radio habit continues.

"Nobody knows anything anymore. It is frustrating that every time I turn on the radio I do not get the big news," he told Al Jazeera.