Cameroonian opposition leader Anicet Ekane has d!ed in detention in Yaounde on Monday morning, his party’s vice president told AFP
“Anicet Ekane d!ed this morning in Yaounde, where he had been transferred following his arrest at the end of October in Douala,” Valentin Dongmo of the African Movement for the New Independence of Cameroon (Manidem) said.
The exact circumstances surrounding the 74-year-old’s de.ath remain unclear.
Ekane, a left-wing nationalist, was arrested in Douala on October 24, just before the release of presidential election results that secured 92-year-old Paula Biya an eighth term. He was a close ally of opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who challenged Biya’s 43-year rule in the October 12 election.
“Anicet Ekane was first detained in Douala before being transferred to Yaounde, where he was held at the State Defence Secretariat (SED). His health began to deteriorate there,” Dongmo said.
“We repeatedly appealed to the authorities, including the military court administration, to have him moved to a hospital with proper medical facilities, but our requests were ignored,” he added, noting that Ekane’s supporters had requested a “medical evacuation” just the day before his death.
Ekane and other opposition figures were arrested after publicly backing Bakary’s self-declared victory ahead of the official results. Manidem condemned the arrests as “arbitrary” and intended to intimidate Cameroonians.
Ekane led Manidem for several years and ran for president in 2004 and 2011. His de.ath has sparked widespread reactions across social media.
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