The death of Anicet Ekane, a historic figure in the Cameroonian opposition and president of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (Manidem), continues to spark strong reactions in Cameroon and abroad. Ekane died on December 1, 2025, while in detention at the State Defense Secretariat (SED) in Yaoundé, after being arrested on October 24, 2025, in Douala, a few days after the presidential election. He was 74 years old and suffered from respiratory and cardiac issues.
Ekane's arrest came after he publicly supported the candidacy of Issa Tchiroma Bakary, an opponent who claimed victory in the presidential election. He was accused of "hostility towards the homeland" and "incitement to revolt," charges that his lawyers described as a "empty case". According to his party and relatives, Ekane needed an oxygen concentrator permanently since contracting Covid-19, but the device was allegedly confiscated during his arrest.
Nearly three months after his death, the national president of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), Maurice Kamto, broke the silence on February 21, 2026, to denounce the "heinous treatment" inflicted on Anicet Ekane. In a statement made on ABK Radio web, Kamto condemned the "abject defilement of his memory" and the "obscene punishment" imposed on his family and relatives. He insisted that, although the regime did not respect Ekane's political choices during his lifetime, it had to respect his human dignity in death.
Anicet Ekane's death has caused a political shockwave, heightened by the troubling circumstances of his detention and accusations of medical negligence. ACAT-France has called for an independent investigation. His friend, Henriette Ekwe, expressed her anger, stressing that Anicet Ekane should never have been in detention.
Anicet Ekane's family, represented by Hippolyte Meli and Emmanuel Simh, has faced difficulties in obtaining the lifting of the seals on the body, which was still blocked at the morgue of the central hospital in Yaoundé in early 2026. This situation has fueled accusations of "barbaric practices" and suspicions of political assassination.
The European Union also reacted, calling for the release of all those arrested during the post-election tensions and stressing the need for an investigation into the circumstances of Ekane's death. The EU recalled that it had already requested that the safety and physical integrity of all political actors be guaranteed.
While the investigation promised by the government has not yet been completed, the question of shedding light on the exact circumstances of Anicet Ekane's death and rendering justice to his memory remains. Anicet Ekane's body has still not been returned to his family.
