Paul Biya has been the president of Cameroon since 1982. But the 93-year-old has a habit of disappearing. This week, a government spokesperson was forced to declare Biya is in fact alive and will return “soon”. All because he’s been in Switzerland for 59 days and Cameroonians haven’t heard from him.So who is actually running one of central Africa’s largest economies? Why can’t Cameroonians talk publicly about their president’s health? And what’s the succession plan? Photograph: Desire Danga Essigue/Reuters