President Paul Biya’s return to Cameroon on Thursday, August 20, concluded a 74-day stay in Suisse. Citizens anticipating his arrival at the airport were instead met with a glimpse of his hand, visible through the partially lowered window of the presidential limousine. This brief visual sparked significant political interpretation regarding Cameroon’s governance.
The Cameroonian populace had expected to witness their long-serving leader descend the aircraft’s gangway, engaging in customary handshakes with the dignitaries of the Etoudi palace. Instead, they were presented with merely a hand—a gesture far from insignificant in the realm of politics. The political symbolism of the hand manifests in four distinct degrees: the hand that takes life, the hand that deceives, the hand that bestows blessings, and finally, the hand that governs.
The hand that takes life
In ancient Rome’s coliseum, silence fell as the crowd fixated on one critical element: Caesar’s hand. A raised thumb meant life for the gladiator; a lowered thumb, death. On Thursday, August 20, in Yaoundé, the dynamic was reversed. It was no longer the Emperor’s hand dictating a gladiator’s fate. Instead, it was the gladiator’s hand that needed to affirm to the nation that he remained alive. Cameroonians observed President Biya’s hand waving in greeting, serving as confirmation of his living return.
The hand that deceives
When physical agility wanes, deception often follows through the hand. Consider the 1986 World Cup, where Argentina’s Diego Maradona famously scored against England with his hand, dubbing it the “Hand of God.” Despite widespread recognition of the trickery, the referee allowed the goal. Similarly, on Thursday, the public clearly saw only a single hand. Yet, CRTV, Cameroon’s national television, with its extensive crew of 200 filming the motorcade, presented this limited sighting as a verified miracle.
The hand that bestows blessings
Within liturgical traditions, power frequently emanates from the hand. A priest lays on hands, the Pope delivers blessings Urbi et Orbi, and a monarch is consecrated through anointing. Once consecrated, the hand itself becomes a sacred relic. Thursday presented an inverted liturgy: a relic-like hand emerging from a tinted window, reminiscent of a reliquary paraded on religious holidays, intended to sustain the faithful’s belief.
The hand that governs
This leads to the ultimate degree: the hand that signs. Throughout the 74-day “short stay” in Suisse, assurances were given that the State continued its functions. The justification? The hand was still signing—decrees, appointments, legislation. The hand was present, even in the absence of the physical body. This embodies the oldest legal definition of power: the manus, or hand. In Latin, manus signifies power or authority. There are no more speeches, no physical presence, no walk across the tarmac. Only the signature and the salute remain: the hand that signs and the hand that greets.
In ancient Rome, the hand determined the fate of others; in the church, it bestowed blessings. In Yaoundé, it primarily signifies that the individual wielding it remains in power. After forty-three years at the helm, Cameroonians must now grow accustomed, for an indeterminate period—likely shorter than longer—to being governed by a hand. Cameroonian journalist Marie Roger Biloa states it more bluntly: “Cameroon,” she asserts, “must prepare to confront the definitive disappearance of a president already de facto absent.”