Robert Bourgi Turns on Paul Biya, Declares Him a Political Corpse

The statement hit like a diplomatic thunderclap. Coming from the man who once whispered into the ears of presidents from the Élysée to Yaoundé, Bourgi’s words were not the rant of a bystander. They were a eulogy — the burial notice of a political order he helped build.

A Long Alliance Built on Shadows

Bourgi’s relationship with Biya stretches back to the early 1980s, when the young lawyer emerged as a bridge between the newly installed Cameroonian president and the networks of the French Fifth Republic. His role was never official, yet his influence was legendary. From the oil corridors of SNH to discreet presidential visits in Paris, Bourgi was the courier of messages, the broker of favours, and the guardian of a system that tied Cameroon’s elite to the French establishment.

That relationship was sealed by mutual dependence: Biya provided continuity for French interests in Central Africa, while Bourgi and his circles ensured diplomatic protection and silence from Paris. It was an arrangement lubricated by mutual benefit — and by oil, timber, and contracts.

When such a man now says the emperor is naked, it is not gossip. It is evidence that the façade has finally collapsed.

Bourgi’s Verdict: A Cadaver Surrounded by Vultures

In his televised remarks and interviews, Bourgi portrayed the 92-year-old Biya as “a man exhausted, captive of a clique of profiteers.” He described an entourage “feeding off an ailing leader,” prolonging his reign to shield their own fortunes.
The words “cadavre politique” may sound theatrical, but in Yaoundé they ring true. The regime has long functioned as an auto-pilot system, where ministers, generals, and businessmen govern in the name of a president who rarely appears.

Bourgi’s insistence that Biya should withdraw “honourably, before history reduces him to stubbornness” is not moral advice; it is strategic. It signals that Paris, or at least the informal networks that orbit it, are preparing for the post-Biya era.

The Paris Endorsement: Issa Tchiroma Steps Into the Light

What stunned Cameroonians even more than Bourgi’s denunciation was his endorsement of Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the former spokesman of Biya’s own government and now candidate of the Union for Change 2025 coalition.
Bourgi called on the country to “turn the page” and support Tchiroma, warning of manoeuvres to restrict his ballots in the Far North — a hint that he knows how the system manipulates elections.

For decades, Tchiroma was viewed as a loyal oppositionist: rebellious in tone, but never threatening the foundations of the regime. His political biography is marked by contradictions — former prisoner after the 1984 coup attempt, then minister under Biya, then dissident again. His current campaign, anchored in the North and speaking the language of social justice, has drawn unexpected crowds.

Bourgi’s public blessing could either elevate him or curse him. In a country weary of French interference, being labelled “Paris’s choice” can be both asset and poison.

The Françafrique Equation

Robert Bourgi embodies the old machinery of Françafrique — the informal system that has linked French business and African presidencies since independence. His distancing from Biya therefore speaks volumes about shifting power lines.
For years, Paris has balanced loyalty to aging allies with the need to secure influence among their potential successors. Emmanuel Macron’s government has been visibly impatient with Biya’s immobility, particularly as instability grows in the Sahel and Nigeria’s influence expands across Central Africa.

By signalling that Tchiroma is “the future,” Bourgi may be floating a transition model designed to preserve French stakes while appearing to back change. The message: continuity through renewal.

A Political Funeral, Not a Coup

Bourgi’s outburst is not the work of a whistle-blower but of an undertaker. His language — “meute de vautours,” “sortie honorable,” “tourner la page” — belongs to someone closing a file.
It confirms what Cameroonians have long sensed: that Biya’s circle governs in fear of the void. Power has become inheritance, not policy. Even the president’s public outings now resemble rituals of survival rather than exercises of authority.

As one diplomat in Yaoundé remarked privately this week, “When the guardian dogs start howling, it means the palace doors are already open.”

The Question of the Hour

Can Issa Tchiroma Bakary transform this moment into genuine change?
His rhetoric is populist but vague. His grasp of global power dynamics — from China’s mineral interests to France’s fading leverage — remains untested. Cameroon’s youth may cheer his defiance, yet many intellectuals question whether he possesses the geopolitical discipline to resist external pressure once in office.

Still, Bourgi’s defection has created a symbolic transfer of legitimacy. The old protector has withdrawn his shield; the “Sphinx” stands alone.

Conclusion

The Bourgi episode is not an anecdote — it is the obituary of a political era.
Biya’s longevity, once admired, now exposes a system unable to regenerate. Whether Tchiroma becomes the new face of renewal or merely the next custodian of Françafrique remains to be seen.
But one truth is certain: the silence that once protected the regime has broken. The whisperer of Paris has spoken — and Cameroon will not hear that voice as a friend again.

Read the full report on Cameroon Concord.
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