Cameroon is facing renewed scrutiny after the death of veteran opposition leader Anicet Ekane, whose relatives and legal team say he deteriorated in detention without access to the care he urgently needed. Ekane, 74, died while still in state custody.
His detention began in late October as authorities rounded up political leaders from the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy following widespread demonstrations over alleged fraud in the presidential election. The government accused him of insurrection, a charge his lawyer Emmanuel Simh has repeatedly rejected.
Simh told The Associated Press that the details of Ekane’s final days point to severe neglect. “Mr. Ekane was critically sick, he was denied appropriate treatment,” he said. “We’re still in the shock and sadness. Ekane committed no crime, so we need to know why he was arrested and abandoned in the prison cell of the paramilitary gendarmerie.”
Amid rising criticism on Monday, Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi issued the government’s first response, noting that President Paul Biya had ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Ekane had played a central role in challenging the outcome of the October 12 election. Biya, 92 and the world’s oldest sitting president, was declared the winner of another term. His opponent, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, insisted he was the rightful victor and urged citizens to reject the official results.
The Ministry of Defense released its own statement on Monday indicating that Ekane died “following an illness,” adding that an investigation was already underway. According to the ministry, he had been receiving treatment. “The deceased, who suffered from various chronic illnesses, had since been hospitalized at the National Gendarmerie Military Medical Center,” the statement said. “He was receiving appropriate care from the Military Medical Corps, in conjunction with his personal physicians, and benefiting from additional follow-up care in local hospitals.”
Ekane’s political allies painted a sharply different picture. His party and the Union for Change platform he led both described his death as “murdered,” calling for an international inquiry and alleging that the state failed to safeguard his life.
His son, Muna Ekane, said the family had spent days sounding alarms over his father’s deteriorating condition. “For one week, he had difficulties breathing; he was suffocating,” he told the AP. “He was diagnosed while in detention but no proper treatment was followed. He had difficulties eating. We spent the whole week alerting public authorities about his worsening health situation but nothing was done.” He referred to the diagnosis only as “respiratory problems.”
Relatives believe the arrest was driven by Ekane’s alignment with Tchiroma, who left for Gambia last month as pressure mounted.
Cameroon was already on edge over the disputed election results, which triggered deadly protests across key opposition regions. The government reported 16 deaths, though opposition groups and human rights advocates put the number above 55.
In the midst of the rising tensions, the European Union has urged the release of detainees it says were “arbitrarily detained” following the vote.
