A prominent Cameroonian opposition figure, Anicet Ekane, died on Monday while being held in detention in Yaounde, according to his party’s vice president.
“Anicet Ekane passed away this morning in Yaounde, where he had been taken after his arrest at the end of October in Douala,” said Valentin Dongmo of the African Movement for the New Independence of Cameroon (Manidem) in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have yet to clarify the circumstances surrounding the 74-year-old’s death.
Ekane, a left-wing nationalist known for his criticism of the government, was arrested in Douala on October 24, a day before the release of presidential election results that reinstated 92-year-old Paul Biya for an eighth term.
A close ally of fellow opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Ekane had backed Bakary’s claim to victory in the October 12 election, challenging Biya’s decades-long hold on power.
According to Dongmo, Ekane’s condition deteriorated while in custody at the State Defence Secretariat (SED).
“We repeatedly informed the authorities, including the military court administration, asking that he be moved to a hospital with adequate facilities,” he said. “Unfortunately, our appeals were not granted.”
He added that supporters had called for a medical evacuation as recently as Sunday.
Ekane and several other political leaders were detained for publicly endorsing Bakary’s self-declared victory before the official election results were released.
Manidem condemned the arrests, describing them as “arbitrary” and intended to “intimidate” citizens.
Born in Douala in 1951, Ekane joined the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) in 1973 before leaving to form Manidem in 1995.
He was previously arrested in February 1990 as part of the Yondo Black group and was later pardoned after a military trial.
Ekane led Manidem for years and ran for president in 2004 and 2011.
News of his death has sparked widespread reactions across social media platforms.
