President Paul Biya and wife Chantal Biya appeared in public on Saturday August 22, 2026. The Presidential Couple received the Indomitable Lionesses at the Unity Palace in Yaounde to honour them following their triumph at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON, lifted in Rabat, Morocco.
The public appearance of President Paul Biya, 93 years old, and the oldest Head of State in the world came on the heels of wild rumours that he was not hail and healthy. The reception of the Indomitable Lionesses at the Unity Palace came just few days after Paul Biya returned to the country after spending more than 70 days in Geneva, Switzerland. The aircraft carrying the Presidential Couple touched down at the Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport at exactly 4.45 pm on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
It is worthy to recall that President Paul Biya left Cameroon on June 7, 2026 in the company of his wife, Madame Chantal Biya, and had not been seen in public since then. His recorded long stay abroad raised concerns about a power vacuum at the helm of the state, especially by some opposition politicians and detractors of the Biya regime. However, Biya loyalists had argued strongly in his absence that the Head of State was on a brief stay abroad, and there was no power vacuum at the helm of the state. Their arguments were buttressed by the fact that even aboard, Paul Biya signed many decrees, with one of the decrees reshuffling the Armed Forces, where he is Commander-in-Chief.
In spite justifications by some government officials of the whereabouts of the Head of State, there were widespread speculations about his health and his whereabouts, as this was the first time he had stayed out of the country for such a long period. In an unexpected twist, Paul Biya and wife returned to Cameroon on Thursday, August 20, 2026 to put detractors to shame.
Yet most people who lined the streets to welcome him back, or watched his return live on CRTV only caught a glimpse of his hand waving from his limousine, and this further fueled rumours by his detractors that he was not hail and healthy.
Many Cameroonians were happy to see a hail and healthy Paul Biya at the Unity Palace receiving the female national team. Thus the statement of Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, Prime Minister and Head of Government who visited the Indomitable Lionesses in Rabat, Morocco, prior to the final, and told them that President Paul Biya was waiting for them in Cameroon with the WAFCON Trophy, came to reality.
