Biya’s limousine breaks down on 20th May Boulevard

His kind of embarrassment is usually predictable only on Cameroon roads with cars half maintained.

After cutting all the “T”s and dotting the “I”s, members of the organizing committee of the 44th anniversary of the 20th May celebration, surely thought they had everything in control – no, not for President Biya’s Limousine.

The unexpected happened live in front of cameras and millions of Cameroonians watching from home.

After making a grand entry into the ceremonial ground, tremendously guarded by fierce looking combat ready elements of the Presidential Security and Presidential guard, Biya made the move to make a motorized review of troops.

But the Limousine carrying him suddenly broke down, leaving the President looking like Meka – abandoned to himself in the African Community Center in Ferdinand Oyono’s “The Old Man and the Medal.”

It happened this way; the State Protocol led the President to take his upright position in the convertible Presidential Limousine, his bodyguard also clinched on to his forward-facing position while the other guards in their daring eyebrows, flanked round the Limousine waiting for the driver to give the steam and move on.

But like a disobedient dog, the same car that only minutes ago had drove in the President refused to move an inch.

All ‘CPR’ attempts to get the thing drive failed – so much trouble that the President had to alight from it to board a different Limousine all together.

Just like what is commonly seen on our roads, guards hurriedly pushed the Limousine behind the scenes.

Only God knows what actually happened to a car that has the best maintenance and state of the art parts.


The 20th May celebration was subsequently shortened. Not so sure whether it was due to that embarrassment though.

The military march pass took just about 1 hour with the soldiers marching just for about 30 minutes unlike other years when the latter marched for about an hour.

Since their march pass obliges the President to remain standing all through the exercise, it is suggested that the ailing President who cannot remain standing for that long asked them to shorten it.

But even the participation of primary schools too was reduced to just two per District in Yaoundé.

In the past years the number used to go up to about five schools per District. The general march pass which started at about 10:20 a.m. ended at 1pm.

Never the case in past years.

The Cameroon Journal notes that this wasn’t the first time President Biya was having such an embarrassment at a 20th May ceremony.

During a state banquet on 20th May 1994 at the Unity Palace, while descending the steps leading to the main banquet hall, Chantal Biya, his wife, in the company of the President, missed her steps and came crumbling miserably before the eyes of invitees and cameras that could not concealed the scene since it was live.

Chantal was making her first public appearance after becoming the First Lady, April of same year.