Cameroon’s opposition leader Anicet Ekane dies in military detention

Anicet Ekane, a veteran opposition figure, has passed away in Cameroon, according to his family and legal representatives.

Ekane, 74, passed away 38 days after being detained in the port city of Douala in Yaounde, the nation’s capital, according to France’s public radio RFI.

Following the disputed presidential election in which 92-year-old Paul Biya claimed another term after more than four decades in power, his death has sparked widespread outrage and threatens to worsen the political unrest in Cameroon.

After backing Biya’s rival Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who has rejected official results and insists he won the election, Ekane, the leader of the left-wing group African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), was taken into custody on October 24.

According to his party, Ekane was charged with insurrection and rebellion, which he and others claimed were politically motivated.

Muna Ekane, his eldest son, reported to the Associated Press news agency that Muna’s father had experienced severe respiratory distress and breathing difficulties for the past week.

He claimed that the family repeatedly called the authorities after one week when he “had breathing difficulties and was suffocating.”

Emmanuel Simh, Ekane’s attorney, claimed that his client had been ill but not received appropriate care. Simh remarked, “We’re still shocked and depressed. We need to know why Kane was detained and abandoned because he “committed no crime” ().

On Sunday, Ekane’s party issued an urgent appeal calling for his immediate transfer to a civilian hospital and appointing a civilian hospital as its response.

The Camerooni government has announced an investigation has been launched and that Ekane received treatment from military personnel who are also his personal doctors.

President Biya ordered a look into the circumstances, while Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi expressed regret for the death.

However, Ekane’s party has called his death “murder,” and the European Union delegation has called for the release of all those who have been arbitrarily detained so far.

Anicet Georges EKANE’s death in custody is the subject of the delegation of the European Union’s response to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. twitter.com/0FTVroVvUc

Ekane was a key figure in the push for multiparty democracy that he founded nearly five decades ago.

Although Ekane was viewed by his supporters as a political heir to Ernest Ouandie, the country’s nationalist hero, Ernest was executed.

Throughout the course of his career, he devoted himself to social justice.

His death comes as a result of ongoing debate surrounding the post-election crackdown.

Despite the government’s claim that 16 protesters died as a result of Biya’s victory, opposition groups and human rights organizations estimate that this number is higher than 55.