Africa Newsroom — Yaoundé was rattled on Tuesday by a fabricated claim that President Paul Biya had immediately installed his son Franck Biya as the country’s first vice-president since the office was abolished in 1972.
No appointment has been made. Local outlets had quoted an unsigned decree circulating online, but senior government figures rejected the story within hours. The denial did little to calm public anger over the amendment that resurrected the post last Saturday, a change critics denounce as a step toward dynastic rule.
The new clause, adopted during a joint parliamentary session boycotted by the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF), allows the president to name or dismiss a vice-president at will. The deputy may exercise only those powers delegated by Biya and would automatically serve as interim head of state for the remainder of the seven-year term if the incumbent dies, resigns or is incapacitated.
Supporters argue the measure guarantees continuity should the 93-year-old leader become unable to govern. Opponents counter that it places unelected loyalists a heartbeat from ultimate authority. “It’s not democratic. This is a republic, and in a republic, those who wield power at the highest level of the state should be elected and not appointed,” SDF parliamentarian Fusi Namukong.
The Cameroon Bar Association warned the change “erodes the democratic legitimacy (of) the presidential office” and weakens constitutional checks. Biya, the world’s oldest serving president, has governed since 1982 and spends long periods in Europe, fuelling speculation about his health. His contested re-election to an eighth term in 2025 triggered protests that left at least four people dead, highlighting mounting frustration among the country’s overwhelmingly young population.
Source: Africanews
