The Ministry of Defence of Cameroon (MINDEF) has released the findings of the investigation into the death of Anicet Ekane, an opposition figure and president of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM). Ekane died on December 1, 2025, while in detention at the State Defense Secretariat (SED) in Yaoundé.
According to the MINDEF statement released on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, the investigation concluded that Anicet Ekane died of natural causes. Ekane's body had been handed over to his family on February 23, after being kept in the morgue of the Yaoundé Central Hospital for the purposes of the investigation.
Ekane's arrest took place in a context of post-election tensions following the contested presidential election of October 12, 2025. He had been charged with hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection. His relatives had denounced the confiscation of his respiratory equipment and a deteriorating state of health. The government had denied these accusations.
The death of Anicet Ekane in detention had sparked strong reactions and calls for an independent investigation. Human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, had called for an impartial, prompt, and effective investigation. The announcement of the investigation's findings by MINDEF, attributing the death to natural causes, aims to dispel suspicions of a death orchestrated by the government.
Anicet Ekane, a leading figure in the Cameroonian nationalist left since the 1990s, was a virulent critic of the political establishment. His party, MANIDEM, emerged from the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC). Leading up to the 2025 presidential election, he had initially allied himself with Maurice Kamto, and then with Issa Tchiroma Bakary.
