Cameroon: Who is Paul Biya’s other elusive son, Junior?

“We are here to celebrate another year for Mr President of the Republic: Junior Biya!” Cathy Meba, President Paul Biya’s niece, said on 22 June in Geneva, as the family marked Junior Biya’s 31st birthday. In a video Meba later posted on social media, Junior’s mother, Chantal Biya, and other members of the presidential family looked on. Wearing a red baseball cap and white shirt, Junior embraced Mama Bébé, a close family friend. Those close to the family say ‘Mr President of the Republic’ is simply a term of affection rooted in Ekang tradition, under which someone who shares a relative’s name may also be addressed by that relative’s title. “This affectionate title, used within the family circle, has absolutely nothing to do with any secret political project,” a family insider says. The clarification matters in Cameroon, where succession has become a persistent subject of political speculation as Biya, in power since 1982, grows older. A rare public presence A few weeks later, Junior — whose full name is Paul Biya Junior — appeared again. On 31 July, his sister Brenda posted a video of him in Geneva, apparently filmed without his knowledge. Junior plays with her dog, notices the camera, turns away and leaves the frame. Such glimpses are unusual. He is generally seen only at family ceremonies or official events and has maintained a much lower profile than his sister. He is extremely discreet, while Brenda is far more visible, particularly on social media He is extremely discreet, while Brenda is far more visible, particularly on social media One of his best-known appearances dates to March 2009, when he met Pope Benedict XVI. He had earlier been baptised by Pope John Paul II during the pontiff’s 1995 visit to Cameroon. One Cameroonian artist later joked that the two encounters made him the most blessed child in the republic. There are otherwise few publicly available images of him. Unlike several other members of Cameroon’s first family, Junior has spent most of his life outside public view. The discreet elder brother The presidency’s official biography lists three children: Emmanuel Franck Biya, Anastasie Brenda Biya Eyenga and Paul Biya Junior. Junior, two years older than Brenda, is the least publicly visible. As a teenager, he attended Collège du Léman, an international boarding school near Geneva where Brenda was later also enrolled. People close to the family say both were eventually withdrawn for security reasons. Junior has no known official social media accounts. He has never given an interview or taken a public position on political or social issues. One of the few recent photographs circulating online shows him with Samuel Eto’o shortly before the former Cameroon captain launched his campaign for the presidency of the football federation, Fecafoot. At the presidential palace, Junior, like his sister, is under the supervision of Oswald Baboke, deputy director of the civil cabinet. People familiar with the family also describe Arsène Onana, a confidant of Franck Biya, as one of Junior’s close friends. “Many Cameroonians do not realise that Junior is Brenda Biya’s elder brother,” says one family member. “He is extremely discreet, while Brenda is far more visible, particularly on social media.” People who know Junior describe him as calm and reserved. One associate says he has at times urged Brenda to show greater restraint when her social-media posts touched on sensitive subjects. The ENAM episode Junior’s name entered wider public debate in 2017, when he and Brenda sat the entrance examination for the École Nationale d’Administration et de Magistrature (ENAM). The school is one of the main routes into Cameroon’s senior civil service. The president himself attended it. The decision by his two children to apply therefore prompted speculation about whether they were being prepared for public careers. Their admission in December 2017 also became controversial. Questions were raised about equal access to the examination process, while reports at the time said special arrangements had been made for their oral exams. Junior’s participation in the written tests drew further attention after reports that he arrived late for one paper. Contemporary accounts said other late candidates were then also allowed into the examination room. His absence at the start of the academic year prompted more questions, with reports suggesting that administrators considered giving his place to a candidate on the waiting list. Junior nevertheless completed the programme and graduated. If ENAM appeared to offer a route into public life, it has so far led nowhere visible. Junior has received no known civil-service appointment and has returned to the low profile that marked his earlier years. Outside the succession race That absence is striking given his place in the presidential family. Cameroon’s succession has long generated speculation around figures inside the ruling establishment and members of the Biya family. Franck Biya, the president’s eldest son from his marriage to Jeanne-Irène Biya, has repeatedly featured in such discussions. Junior has not. He is the son of both the president and the current first lady. He attended ENAM and grew up within the presidential household. Yet there is little public evidence of political activity on his part. He has built no visible political network, made no public interventions and taken no known official role since graduating. At 31, Paul Biya Junior remains an unusual figure within Cameroon’s first family: close to the centre of power, but so far showing little sign of seeking it. Yves Plumey Bobo Yves Plumey Bobo