Yaoundé, Cameroon – December 1, 2025 – Anicet Ekane, the 74-year-old leader of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), died in military detention early Monday morning. His death, after five weeks in custody marked by what his family and lawyers describe as deliberate medical neglect, has sparked widespread outrage and accusations of state-orchestrated murder against President Paul Biya’s regime.
Ekane, a veteran leftist activist and one of Cameroon’s most outspoken critics of authoritarian rule, was arrested on October 24 in Douala shortly after the controversial presidential election. His party described the operation as a “kidnapping” carried out by soldiers in plainclothes. He was immediately transferred to a military garrison in Yaoundé and charged with hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection—accusations he rejected as politically motivated.
The arrest came in the wake of the October 12 presidential election, in which 92-year-old Paul Biya, the world’s longest-serving non-royal head of state, was declared the winner with 53.66% of the vote, securing a seventh consecutive term that will keep him in power until 2032. The main opposition coalition candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, officially received 35.19%, though he and his supporters insist the true result was reversed through widespread fraud.
The announcement of Biya’s victory triggered some of the most violent protests Cameroon has seen in decades. Demonstrations erupted in major cities including Douala, Yaoundé, Garoua, and Maroua. Security forces responded with live ammunition, tear gas, and mass arrests. Human Rights Watch and United Nations sources documented at least 48 civilian deaths and more than 800 arbitrary detentions in the weeks following the election. The government acknowledged only 16 deaths and described the violence as the work of “troublemakers.”
Ekane, who had rallied behind the opposition coalition after Maurice Kamto’s candidacy was disqualified on technical grounds, became one of the most prominent figures arrested during the crackdown. Despite suffering from chronic respiratory problems that required an oxygen concentrator and other medical equipment, he was held at the State Secretariat for Defense (SED), a military facility notorious for its harsh conditions and lack of transparency.
On November 21, MANIDEM issued a statement revealing that Ekane’s essential medical devices, which had been in his vehicle at the time of arrest, remained locked in an impounded car at a military police station in Douala. Lawyers’ repeated requests to retrieve the equipment were denied by the station commander. The party described the refusal as a “flagrant human rights violation” and accused authorities of engaging in a “programmed killing.”
Ekane’s health deteriorated rapidly. During a closely monitored visit just days before his death, his lawyer Ngouana Ulrich Juvenal reported that the opposition leader could barely speak and was struggling to breathe. On Sunday, November 30, MANIDEM made an urgent public appeal for Ekane to be transferred to a civilian hospital equipped to provide adequate care, warning that the government would bear full responsibility for any fatal outcome.
He died overnight at the National Gendarmerie Military Medical Center in Yaoundé, where he had been taken in critical condition. His sister, Mariane Simon-Ekane, announced his passing on social media. His eldest son later told journalists that the family had spent the previous week desperately alerting authorities to his worsening state, to no avail.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed Ekane’s death, attributing it to a “chronic illness” and announcing an internal investigation. Opposition figures and human rights defenders immediately rejected the official narrative. MANIDEM declared that Ekane had been “assassinated” through deliberate neglect. Prominent civil society leader Michèle Ndoki accused the regime of “killing those who speak the truth,” while exiled opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma warned that Ekane’s death would only strengthen the resolve of those fighting for democratic change.
Ekane’s political journey spanned more than five decades. A former member of the historic Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), he founded MANIDEM in the 1990s as a radical nationalist and socialist alternative to Biya’s ruling party. He ran for president in 2004 and 2011, never winning more than a small percentage of the vote but earning respect as a principled and fearless voice against corruption, repression, and neocolonial influence.
His death has intensified calls both inside and outside Cameroon for accountability. Crowds gathered outside MANIDEM headquarters in Douala to mourn and demand justice. International observers, including the European Union, have condemned the ongoing detention of thousands of post-election protesters and called for the immediate release of all political prisoners.
In a country already grappling with a seven-year separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions, soaring youth unemployment, and growing disillusionment with a president widely seen as out of touch, Ekane’s death in custody risks becoming a rallying cry for a broader confrontation with the regime. As one mourner wrote on social media, “His blood does not cry for vengeance; it calls for justice.”
For now, Cameroon stands at a dangerous crossroads. Whether Anicet Ekane’s death marks the beginning of a new chapter of resistance or simply another tragic milestone in a long history of crushed dissent remains to be seen.
