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Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Cameroon's President, world's oldest head of state, seeks to extend rule to age 99
In the latest extreme example of the gerontocracy that dominates many African countries, Cameroon's 92-year-old President Paul Biya has announced he will seek to extend his term for another seven years. Mr. Biya, the world's oldest head of state, has ruled Cameroon for 43 years. He routinely disappears from public view for weeks or even months at a time, often to spend time at a luxury hotel in Switzerland. His election candidacy was disclosed in a brief social-media post this week. Of the world's 10 longest-serving political leaders, more than half are in Africa, and none are showing any signs of retiring. Most are at the head of repressive regimes, including Mr. Biya and the 80-year-old Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who recently launched his own re-election campaign after nearly four decades in power. 'I cannot shirk my mission,' Mr. Biya said in his social-media post. 'The best is still to come.' In the last election in 2018, he only made one public campaign appearance, but officially collected 71 per cent of the vote in a disputed result. Last year he vanished from public sight for 42 days, provoking rumours that he had died, while his government ordered a ban on any media discussion of his absence. On Tuesday, when he was photographed meeting a senior Vatican official, it was the first time Mr. Biya had been seen in public since May 20. In his rare appearances, he has seemed frail and unsteady on his feet. His aides insist that he governs the country by providing detailed written instructions to his cabinet ministers. In a growing number of African countries, long-ruling presidents look to anoint their sons as next leaders Mr. Biya eliminated term limits in 2008, allowing him to rule indefinitely. He remains the favourite to win this year's election – scheduled for Oct. 12 – but there are growing signs of dissent with his presidency, despite his regime's frequent crackdowns on opposition leaders. 'He's transforming a democratic institution like the presidency into African royalty,' Colbert Gwain, a social activist in Cameroon's northwestern region, said in an interview. Felix Nkongho Agbor, a lawyer and human-rights advocate, said Mr. Biya's bid to extend his rule is 'a stark reminder of the urgent need for political renewal' in Cameroon and 'a reflection of a system that resists change at all costs.' Mr. Biya is the front-runner in October's election largely because the opposition is fragmented. In a social-media post, Mr. Agbor said this should be a wake-up call for opposition parties, prompting them to unite and organize a joint campaign. In a sign of the rising unhappiness with Mr. Biya's lengthy reign, two of his closest allies resigned from his cabinet in recent weeks, announcing their own plans to contest the election. One of them, former employment minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, issued an election manifesto in which he complained that Mr. Biya's four decades in power 'has gradually stifled progress, paralyzed our institutions, and broken the bond of trust between the state and its citizens.' He added: 'A country cannot exist to serve one man. It must live to serve its people. The time has come to return power to the population.' A national French-language newspaper, Le Messager, covered Mr. Biya's candidacy announcement with a front-page headline that suggested, in crude words, that the country was doomed. Its story said Mr. Biya had presided over decades of poverty and poor governance and is now so weakened by age that he lacks any control over the country. While some newspapers and activists are willing to speak out, many ordinary people are afraid of reprisals if they talk to the media about Mr. Biya's long rule. In the capital, Yaoundé, a group of young people on motorcycles were gazing at the front-page headline in Le Messager on Monday. One of them ventured that he agreed with the headline, but all of them were too nervous to give their names. One even suggested that the journalist asking the questions might be a spy for the government. Elderly rulers in Africa are sometimes touted as bulwarks of political stability, but their lengthy reigns can trigger coups or fierce succession battles, and their secret illnesses can be accompanied by destructive power struggles when they refuse to step down. Robert Mugabe is perhaps the most famous example. After dominating Zimbabwe for decades, he was finally toppled in a military coup in 2017 when he was 93. The final years of his rule were marked by damaging feuds as insiders jostled for power with his wife, Grace. Among the continent's oldest autocrats today are 83-year-old Teodoro Obiang, who seized power in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea in a coup in 1979, and 81-year-old Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled the Republic of Congo for almost all of the past 46 years. Many such regimes are run by complex presidential clans, which can be fractured as their aging leaders move closer to their likely departure, according to Serge Loungou, a lecturer in political geography at Omar Bongo University in Gabon. 'As such leaders approach an end-of-reign phase, intense succession rivalries tend to play out,' he wrote in a recent commentary. 'These rivalries are fuelled by deep-seated conflicts within presidential families, and can lead to prolonged social and political instability.'
News.com.au
10-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Viral moment Donald Trump praises Liberian leader on English, his native tongue
A less than 20 second exchange at a lunch between US President Donald Trump and African leaders has gone viral. As the leaders sat around a table in the White House's State Dining Room on Wednesday, Mr Trump praised the president of Liberia on his English-speaking skills and asked where he learnt to speak the language. However, English is the official language of the country. 'Thank you, and such good English,' Mr Trump told Joseph Boakai. (Watch in the video player above). Mr Boakai took the compliment with a polite laugh. 'Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?' Mr Trump asked. 'Were you educated? Where?' 'Yes, sir,' Mr Boakai said. 'In Liberia?' Mr Trump pressed. 'Yes, sir,' the Liberian president said again. Mr Trump continued: 'That's very interesting. It's beautiful English. I have people at this table who can't speak nearly as well.' Liberia was founded by African-Americans. US engagement in Liberia began in the 1820s when the Congress- and slaveholder-funded American Colonization Society began sending freed slaves to its shores. Thousands of 'Americo-Liberian' settlers followed, declaring themselves independent in 1847 and setting up a government to rule over a native African majority. The country has a diverse array of indigenous languages and a number of creolised dialects, while Kpelle-speakers are the largest single linguistic group. Mr Boakai himself can read and write in Mendi and Kissi but converses in Liberia's official tongue and lingua franca — English. The awkward exchange quickly made headlines and was plastered across social media. While some social media users labelled the moment 'embarrassing' and slammed the US President for being ignorant, others shared they didn't know English was the official language of the West African nation either. — with AFP Read related topics: Donald Trump
Mail & Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
G20 take note: Climate adaptation today will ensure Africa's thriving future
Despite its low contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, Africa faces the brunt of climate change. Photo: Patrick Meinhardt/AFP South Africa is the current president of the G20, a first for the African continent. The government has chosen Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability as its theme. Given the climate-related crises being experienced on the continent, there hasn't been a better or more urgent opportunity to emphasise how fundamental these concepts are for the development and resilience of Africa. As we set up the In 2024, in the Sahel, extreme temperatures triggered heatwaves while heavy rains caused flooding, with Most of these disasters were anticipated and highlighted as potential risks as far back as Access to food is a human right that is continuously unrealised in most of Africa. The statistics for the continent are sobering: The records of people experiencing In 2024, a staggering eight out of With more than 20% of its population affected, Africa has the highest rate of hunger, and Several African countries are 53% of the global population facing hunger will be in Africa by 2030. Climate change Despite the extreme vulnerability, adaptation to climate change has so far been too slow and insufficient. African leaders have not been silent, actively calling These calls have been mostly ignored, as exemplified by COP29's disappointing outcome, where the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance of prioritising and mobilising As the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction meets this week, the need for risk reduction and resilience in the form of climate adaptation must be high on their agenda. If we are to see the chosen values of Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability applied, the global community needs to commit to and support an African-led just transition that reflects the will and aspirations of Africa and secures its future as an equal global partner. Similarly, local governments need to be intentional and innovative about climate action. Changes in how things are 'normally done' are urgent, and a recognition that there will be no future growth possible without paying for climate risks today. Key actions that could be advanced in 2025 include: Strategic and meaningful climate action in Africa. The international community needs to support Africa in bridging the existing climate adaptation funding gap. African countries must develop inclusive, sustainable and equitable National Adaptation Plans and Climate Resilience indicators to attract funding. Support and strengthen community-led climate adaptation programmes to empower local communities to take climate action. Strategic and contextualised post-disaster humanitarian aid that does not reinforce, redistribute or create new vulnerabilities. Advances in the evidence base to improve understanding of the connections between health and climate change in Africa, to inform effective adaptation action which protects health. While Africa faces daunting problems, which are being exacerbated by climate change, there is always hope. With the right support, robust evidence, and strategic collaboration, Africa can achieve a future where its environment and people thrive. Professor Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi is the director of the Lancet Countdown Africa, and holds positions on various advisory committees and panels and is an editor for several journals. The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change was established in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, which continues to provide core financial support. Mendy-Lisa Ndlovu is the project coordinator for the Wellcome Trust-funded Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems for Southern Africa Project.
The Herald
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Trump says five African nations unlikely to face US tariffs
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said African nations are going to lower their tariffs and that the US treats Africa better than China does, adding that five African countries were unlikely to face US tariffs. Trump, meeting with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal at the White House, added that he did not think those countries at the gathering were likely to see any US tariffs. Reuters
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Awkward silence after Trump praises English of Liberian president
The US president, Donald Trump, said Joseph Boakai, the president of Liberia where English is the official language, had spoken 'such good English' during a meeting with African leaders. Boakai was advocating for US investment in his country and a joint approach to peace and security in the region. Trump asked him where he had 'learned to speak so beautifully', causing embarrassment
