Cameroon: Who is really calling the shots?

Yaounde, Cameroon – A dispute over roadworks in Yaounde in March, ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Cameroon the following month, highlighted tensions between central government and municipal authorities. The disagreement involved Housing and Urban Development Minister Celestine Ketcha Courtes and Yaounde City Mayor Luc Messi Atangana over the rehabilitation of a road along the papal visit route, according to local media reports. The episode raised a broader question about competing centres of authority in Cameroon: Who exercises power when President Paul Biya is absent?

Biya, 93, has governed Cameroon since 1982. His prolonged absences from public view have intensified scrutiny on how decisions are made, who has access to him and how much authority is exercised by those around him. Biya returned to Yaounde on August 20 after more than 10 weeks abroad, following a stay in Europe that began on June 7 .

His return did little to dispel questions about the management of power. The issue is not simply whether the state continues to function.