The Cameroonian government has banned the media from discussing the health of President Paul Biya.
The 91-year-old has not appeared in public since September, fuelling rumours about his health.
Biya, who assumed office as president in the Central African nation on November 6, 1982, is Africa’s second-longest serving ruler and the world’s oldest.
The government announced the ban in a document dated October 9 and signed by Territorial Administration Minister, Paul Atanga Nji.
The document was addressed to regional governors in Cameroon.
The central government ordered the governors to create “monitoring cells” to track content in private media, including social networks.
It read: “The head of state is the principal institution of the republic, and discussions on his condition are a matter of national security.
“All discussion in the media on the president’s condition is therefore officially banned.”