Ofure Akhigbe
Cameroonian opposition figure, Anicet Ekane, has died in detention in Yaounde, authorities of his party confirmed on Monday.
The Vice President of the African Movement for the New Independence of Cameroon (Manidem), Valentin Dongmo, told AFP that Ekane died on Monday morning in the capital city, where he had been transferred after his arrest in Douala at the end of October. The exact circumstances surrounding the death of the 74-year-old remain unclear.
Ekane, a left-wing nationalist politician, was arrested in Douala on October 24, on the eve of the announcement of the presidential election results that returned President Paul Biya, 92, to power for an eighth term following the October 12 election.
He was a close ally of opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who challenged Biya’s 43-year hold on power. Ekane and other political leaders were arrested after publicly supporting Bakary’s self-proclaimed victory ahead of the official results.
According to Dongmo, Ekane was first detained in Douala before being transferred to Yaounde, where he was held at the State Defence Secretariat (SED). “It was there that his health began to deteriorate,” he said.
Dongmo disclosed that repeated appeals were made to the authorities, including the military court administration, for Ekane to be transferred to a better-equipped hospital, but the requests were declined. He added that Ekane’s supporters had called for a medical evacuation just a day before his death.
Manidem had previously condemned the arrests of Ekane and others as “arbitrary,” saying they were aimed at intimidating the population.
Born in Douala in 1951, Ekane joined the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) in 1973 before founding Manidem in 1995. In February 1990, he was arrested alongside members of the Yondo Black group, tried by a military court, and later pardoned.
Ekane led Manidem for several years and contested the presidential elections in 2004 and 2011. His death has sparked widespread reactions across social media in Cameroon and beyond.