The invention of the “Kumba age.” How did people’s age become so fluid in Cameroon?

This article analyzes how individuals react to age barriers imposed by the state in accessing public service positions in Cameroon. The use of civil age as an identification artifact demonstrates that this tool has a political significance, enabling the classification and categorization of individuals competing for public service positions. The established age thresholds serve as criteria determining the right to employment and the end of employability. Faced with discriminatory effects, individuals engage in various processes to alter their age whenever it conflicts with their career plans. However, this manipulation of age-related identity becomes critical with the advent of the biometric state, more vigilant than the documentary state when it comes to managing personal data. This article concludes that age modification practices, far from being a mere disruption in social dynamics, herald the emergence of a society where age becomes fluid, with implications for civil identification.