Paul Biya’s prolonged stay in Switzerland has entered its 50th day, exposing what many Ambazonians see as another symbol of the occupation regime’s disconnect from suffering citizens. The Yaoundé regime leader has now broken his own 2024 record for the longest absence from French Cameroun while clinging to power.
Biya quietly left Yaoundé on June 7 for what the regime described as a “short private stay” in Europe. However, nearly two months later, there is no return date. Officials continue to repeat the same promise that he will return “as soon as possible.”
Fresh estimates place the cost of Biya’s luxury stay at the InterContinental Genève between CFA 2.40 billion and CFA 2.88 billion. The figure covers hotel accommodation alone after 50 nights. It excludes flights, official vehicles, meals, security, gratuities and other expenses for the large delegation accompanying him.
Former hotel managers say the regime reserved an entire floor for Biya. The delegation reportedly occupies about 30 additional rooms, housing nearly 60 people. Meanwhile, the Presidential Suite alone is believed to have cost more than CFA 250 million.
The staggering expenditure has intensified criticism across occupied Ambazonia and French Cameroun. At official government construction costs, the same money could build about 48 integrated health centres or 240 classrooms. It could also pay one year’s minimum wage for more than 3,300 workers. Furthermore, every extra night reportedly burns public funds equal to more than 66 years of a worker’s minimum wage.
The political fallout also continues to grow. On July 22, the ruling CPDM hurriedly convened senior officials for an emergency meeting. At the same time, Communication Minister René Emmanuel Sadi insisted Biya had not been hospitalised. Yet the regime has failed to release any recent photograph or video proving the ageing leader’s condition.
Earlier this month, MMI News challenged the Presidency, the InterContinental Genève and IHG to publish the actual hotel invoice and the delegation list. None of the institutions has responded.
Until the regime opens its books, public estimates remain the only available measure of the enormous cost. Meanwhile, the bill continues to rise as Biya extends his luxury stay abroad while citizens across occupied Ambazonia and French Cameroun endure worsening economic hardship.
