Where is Cameroon’s Paul Biya — and why is his health a banned topic?

The 91-year-old president has been missing in action for over a month, fuelling rumours about his health.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya’s month-long absence from the public eye is causing intense speculation about his health and raising fears of a post-Biya power struggle among political factions in the central African country.

Biya, who has long faced health suspicions, often disappears for weeks on end, only to resurface again. The long absences negatively impact the day-to-day running of a country facing multiple challenges, including a secessionist war in the west, and a militant conflict in the north, analysts say.

Here’s what to know about Biya’s disappearances and why Cameroonians are anxious about a post-Biya period:

Biya has not appeared in public since September 8, after he attended the China-Africa forum, along with several of the continent’s leaders, in Beijing.