President Paul Biya finally returned on Thursday, August 20, concluding an unexpected 74-day stay in Switzerland. The eagerly awaiting Cameroonian populace was met with a fleeting glimpse of their head of state: merely his hand, visible through the slightly lowered window of the presidential limousine.
Cameroonians had anticipated the customary sight of the veteran leader descending the aircraft’s steps, shaking hands with the influential figures of Etoudi Palace. Instead, they received only a hand. In the realm of politics, such an appearance is far from trivial. The hand in political discourse carries four distinct layers of meaning: the hand that kills, the hand that cheats, the hand that blesses, and the hand that governs.
The hand that kills
In ancient Rome, the bustling arena would fall silent as all eyes turned to Caesar’s hand. A thumb raised meant life for the gladiatorial combatant; a thumb lowered signified death. On Thursday, August 20, in Yaoundé, the dynamic was reversed. It was no longer the emperor’s hand dictating a gladiatorial fate. Rather, it was the hand of the ‘gladiator’—the president—that needed to signal to the ’empire’ that he was still among the living. The people of Cameroon witnessed Biya’s hand offering a salute, a clear indication that he had indeed returned alive.
The hand that cheats
When physical faculties wane, the hand can become an instrument of deception. Consider the infamous 1986 incident where Argentine football legend Diego Maradona scored against England using his hand, famously coining it the ‘Hand of God.’ Despite universal recognition of the foul, the referee validated the goal. Similarly, on Thursday, everyone observed a single hand. Yet, CRTV, the national television broadcaster of Cameroon, with its extensive crew of 200 personnel assigned to cover the presidential motorcade, enthusiastically affirmed the ‘miracle’ of the appearance.
The hand that blesses
In various religious liturgies, power and grace emanate from the hand. Priests perform the imposition of hands, the Pope bestows his Urbi et orbi blessing, and monarchs are consecrated through anointing. Once consecrated, the hand itself becomes a sacred relic. However, Thursday presented an inverted liturgy. A relic-like hand emerged from behind tinted glass, much like a reliquary paraded during religious festivals, intended to sustain the faithful’s belief.
The hand that governs
This brings us to the ultimate dimension: the hand that signs. For 74 days, throughout the president’s brief sojourn in Switzerland, assurances were given that the state continued its operations. The reason provided was that the hand was still signing—issuing decrees, enacting appointments, and approving laws. The hand was present, even in the absence of the body. This is rooted in the oldest legal definition of power: the manus, or hand. In Latin, manus signifies authority and might. There are no more grand speeches, no physical presence, no dignified walk across the tarmac. All that remains are the signature and the salute—the hand that signs and the hand that waves.
In ancient Rome, the hand determined life or death. In the church, it bestowed blessings. In Yaoundé, it primarily signals that the individual wielding it remains in power. After an extensive forty-three-year reign, Cameroonians must now grow accustomed, for an indeterminate period—likely shorter than longer—to being governed by a mere hand. Marie Roger Biloa, a prominent Cameroonian journalist, expressed it more bluntly: “Cameroon,” she asserted, “must prepare for the definitive disappearance of a president already de facto absent.“
