Opposition leader dies in jail
Publish date: 08 December 2025
Issue Number: 1155
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Cameroon
Left-wing Cameroonian opposition figure Anicet Ekane has died in detention, five weeks after he was arrested, his lawyers and party have announced. Ekane (74) was among the leaders of an opposition coalition who endorsed Issa Tchiroma Bakary in October's presidential election, a BBC News report says. Tchiroma Bakary says he was the rightful winner of the poll, officially won by 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya. Tchiroma Bakary has since fled to The Gambia. No official cause of Ekane's death has been announced. His party has accused the authorities of denying him access to his medication – a charge the government has denied. According to a spokesman for Ekane's African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (Manidem) party, Ekane died on Monday at a military medical facility, after his health worsened over the weekend. Defence Ministry spokesman Captain Cyrille Serge Atonfack said: ‘The deceased, who suffered from various chronic pathologies, had been interned at the Military Medical Centre of the National Gendarmerie,’ adding that the politician had been well taken care of by doctors since his arrest on 24 October. Minister of Communication and government spokesperson René Emmanuel Sadi, said Ekane had received proper medical attention from both his personal doctors and those at the military hospital, adding that an investigation had been launched to determine the exact circumstances of his death.
According to Ekane's lawyers, he was accused of hostility against the state, incitement to revolt and calls for insurrection. ‘He was never presented before a judge or charged with any misdemeanour,’ said one of his lawyers, Hippolyte Meli, according to the BBC News report. In recent weeks, rumours had circulated that the opposition figure had died, and Ekane's party members had demanded to see him ‘dead or alive’. His death has sent shockwaves across the nation, with supporters gathering at the party headquarters in Douala to grieve. Others have taken to venting their anger online.
