Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has strengthened his personal security with a clutch of new appointments, as questions swirl about the 93-year-old’s prolonged absence from the country.
For the first time, a general — Raymond Jean Charles Beko’o Abondo, 54 — has been appointed to head the presidential guard.
He is one of four generals heading units now responsible for presidential protection, according to a decree dated August 3.
Biya, the world’s longest-serving head of state, also appointed army chief Hippolyte Ebaka as chief of defence staff, making him deputy to the highest-ranking military officer, chief of the general staff Rene Claude Meka.
The appointments come with renewed debate over Biya’s absence and his ability to carry out his duties, as he has not been seen for nearly two months.
But the government has denied that his health has deteriorated and said he would return to Cameroon soon. Biya has been president since 1982.
Cameroon’s opposition said Biya’s absence had created an “institutional vacuum” that had put the country on “autopilot”.
The appointment of a new government and vice-president has been pending for several months.
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