Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera has undergone what officials describe as a “routine” medical check-up in Belgium, amid swirling rumours suggesting he had been rushed to hospital.
Presidential spokesman Maxime Balalou confirmed on Monday that the 68-year-old leader travelled to Brussels for standard health assessments before attending the Gavi vaccine alliance summit scheduled for Wednesday.
“He went to undergo what we call a check-up, meaning routine examinations,” Balalou said.
Speculation over the president’s health had grown after reports on social media and in parts of the press claimed he had been urgently hospitalised. Balalou firmly dismissed these rumours in a statement on Tuesday, calling them “false” and “misleading.”
“I want to reassure the public that the president is in very good health,” he said, adding that Touadera was fit to participate in the upcoming summit.
Despite the clarification, political insiders in Bangui remain cautious. Several sources, who spoke anonymously, described the president’s health as a “sensitive” subject rarely addressed in public discourse.
Touadera has been in power since 2016, taking office in the wake of a brutal sectarian conflict that left the country reeling. Backed by French forces and UN peacekeepers, his administration gradually restored relative stability to urban centres.
In 2019, he signed a landmark peace deal with 14 armed groups, bringing many militia leaders into the political fold. Although the agreement helped calm the capital and key towns, sporadic violence still troubles rural parts of the country.
