Veteran Cameroonian opposition leader Anicet Ekane, 74, died on Monday, December 1, 2025, while in military detention in Yaoundé, just 38 days after his arrest in Douala. His death has sparked widespread outrage and threatens to further destabilize Cameroon’s already tense political sphere following October’s disputed presidential election.
Ekane, leader of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), was detained on October 24 after publicly supporting rival candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who contested the official election results that saw 92-year-old President Paul Biya claim an eighth term. Authorities charged Ekane with insurrection and rebellion, allegations his party vehemently denied as politically motivated.
His family and legal representatives have accused authorities of medical neglect. Muna Ekane, his eldest son, stated that his father’s health deteriorated sharply in the week leading up to his death, with severe respiratory distress.
“For one week, he had difficulties breathing; he was suffocating,” Muna Ekane told the Associated Press, adding that repeated alerts to officials went unheeded. His lawyer, Emmanuel Simh, defended these concerns, stating, “Mr. Ekane was critically sick, he was denied appropriate treatment”.
MANIDEM further alleged that vital medical equipment, including an oxygen concentrator, was impounded and access was repeatedly blocked by military police, calling it a “flagrant human rights violation” and a “programmed killing”.
Cameroon’s government, through Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi, expressed regret and announced that President Biya has ordered an investigation into the circumstances of Ekane’s death. The Ministry of Defense stated that Ekane died “following an illness” and had been receiving care from military doctors and his personal physicians at the National Gendarmerie Military Medical Center.
However, Ekane’s party and the Union for Change political platform have branded his death as “murder” and called for an international investigation. The European Union delegation in Cameroon expressed “deep sadness” and reiterated calls for the release of all those “arbitrarily detained” since the election.
Ekane’s death comes amidst ongoing controversy over a post-election crackdown, with opposition groups claiming a much higher death toll in protests than the government’s official figures.
