After months of deadlock, the body of Anicet Ekane, a Cameroonian opposition figure who died in detention, has finally been returned to his family. The Government Commissioner at the Yaoundé Military Tribunal has lifted the restrictions that prevented the family from organizing the funeral.
According to a correspondence dated this Monday, February 23, 2026, and signed by lawyers Hippolyte Meli Tiakouang and Emmanuel Simh, Anicet Ekane's widow and relatives are now free to organize the funeral as they wish. "This is the culmination of a long battle led by the family and their lawyers," Equinoxe TV commented.
Anicet Ekane was arrested on October 24, 2025, in Douala, following his support for Issa Tchiroma, a candidate who had proclaimed himself the winner of the 2025 presidential election. He was then transferred to Yaoundé, where he died in detention on December 1, 2025. The exact circumstances of his death in detention remain unclear. His arrest took place in a context of contesting the results of the presidential election that saw the re-election of President Paul Biya. Ekane, a leading figure in the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), had been charged with hostility against the State, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection, charges he denied.
Several human rights organizations had denounced the conditions of his detention and called for an impartial investigation into his death. Human Rights Watch had notably pointed out that his death could be the result of a lack of protection for people deprived of their liberty in Cameroon. The organization had also reported that, despite repeated requests, Ekane had been denied appropriate medical care for a pre-existing respiratory condition, which had worsened in detention.
Anicet Ekane's family will now be able to set the date of the funeral and pay him a final tribute. His death had sparked strong reactions both in Cameroon and abroad, rekindling political tensions in the country.
