Reports of a military coup in Cameroon ousting President Paul Biya have gone viral on social media.
On Tuesday, jimmoexpress37, a TikTok account, posted an eight-minute video claiming that the Cameroonian military has taken over, leaving Biya nowhere to be found.
The video has gathered over 41.2k views, 1.1k likes, and 694 shares. Most of the 157 comments asked when the same situation would happen in Nigeria.
In the video, a male narrator is heard dramatically narrating the events that led to the coup, the actors involved, and the liberation of Cameroon.
According to the narrator, the coup was triggered by widespread disapproval of Biya’s autocratic 41-year rule.
The president’s nearly two-month medical care absence from the country last September heightened the disapprovals, the narrator claimed.
“The coup happened this morning at about 5am,” the narrator said, praising the alleged coup for being bloodless.
He labelled it “surgical precision”. But the male voice did not specify what day the reported coup happened.
A shorter five-minute version of the video was forwarded many times on WhatsApp.
“President Biya of Cameron is dethroned by a military coup this morning at 5:00 am. with no blood shed. Yaounde is jubliating,” the accompanying caption said.
A specific time was also not mentioned.
VERIFICATION
CableCheck analysed multiple screenshots of the video using a reverse image search and found that one of the earliest versions of the video was posted on June 8 via Jeunesse Panafricaine, a YouTube channel with 2.7k subscribers.
Jeunesse Panafricaine, translated from French to English, means Pan-African Youth.
No context was provided for the video, which only had seven views.
Information about the channel said it was created with the main purpose of raising awareness among African youth about the “real challenges of Pan-Africanism in the 21st century”.
“We also offer you the hot topics of African news. Not to mention the support we will give to Colonel Assimi Goïta of Mali, Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso, General Tchani of Niger… who at this key moment in our history represent true symbols of Pan-Africanism,” the information reads.
Similar videos claiming that Cameroon suffered a coup also appeared on Instagram.
CableCheck observed that the narrator has characteristic audio-visual realism that matched artificial intelligence (AI) alterations.
The narrator had plausible, lip‑synced speech and matched sound design and was aided by an overly smooth camera movement.
There were also subtle glitches, slightly repetitive backgrounds, and uncanny timing in lip‑sync and ambient effects.
However, has the Biya government been toppled by a coup?
In typical coup patterns, the overthrown leader or key government officials are often detained by the coup plotters.
Biya’s official Facebook account has remained active as of the time of this report.
In a statement on Thursday, the president urged Cameroonians to prioritise unity.
“Let us not oppose our differences but confront our ideas… Let’s consider our ethnic or cultural differences as many enriching factors,” Biya said.
There have also been no official reports of a coup in Cameroonian media.
BIYA BATTLING PERSISTENT COUP, DEATH RUMOURS
Biya has faced persistent rumours about his health, death, and even potential coups over the years.
Rumours about the 91-year-old often intensify during periods when he is out of the public eye for extended periods.
Last year, rumours about his death sparked widespread speculation after he was absent for over a month.
The government responded by banning local media from discussing his health and officially denying the rumours, confirming he was alive and in good health, often resting in Geneva.
In comparison to its French-speaking West African sister countries, Cameroon has been relatively stable despite being governed by one man for two decades,
Biya’s rule has often been described as authoritarian.
However, the last coup attempt in Cameroon occurred on April 6, 1984.
It was unsuccessful and was quickly suppressed after several days of fighting in the capital, Yaoundé, with loyalist forces regaining control.
The event is considered one of the most significant in Cameroon’s post-independence history.
There has been no successful coup in Cameroon since then.
VERDICT
Claims of a coup in Cameroon are false. The next presidential election is scheduled for October 5, and Biya, who has been in power since 1982, is expected to run for another term.
