On June 7, Cameroonian President Paul Biya left the country for what his office described as a “brief private stay in Europe.” Then he didn’t come back – for 73 days.

As the weeks passed with little information about the 93-year-old president’s whereabouts, rumors swirled about his health. Opposition figures questioned whether the country was effectively running on autopilot and even called for an interim leader. Finally, on August 20, Biya returned to Cameroon, waving to supporters from his motorcade in the country’s capital, Yaoundé, and presented a trophy to the national women’s soccer team three days later as if it were business as usual.