Cameroonian opposition leader Anicet Ekane has died while in detention in Yaounde, his party’s vice president confirmed on Monday.
Valentin Dongmo of the African Movement for the New Independence of Cameroon (Manidem) said Ekane, 74, was transferred to Yaounde after being arrested in Douala at the end of October. The exact circumstances of his death remain unclear.
Ekane, a veteran left-wing nationalist, was detained on October 24, just ahead of the announcement of presidential election results that secured 92-year-old Paul Biya an eighth term. He was a close ally of opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who had challenged Biya’s decades-long rule.
Dongmo said Ekane’s health began deteriorating while he was held at the State Defence Secretariat (SED) in Yaounde. “We repeatedly requested that he be moved to a hospital with proper medical care, but our appeals were ignored. His supporters had even called for a medical evacuation just yesterday,” he added.
Ekane and other opposition leaders were arrested after publicly supporting Bakary’s claim of victory ahead of the official results. Manidem described the arrests as arbitrary and aimed at intimidating citizens.
Born in Douala in 1951, Ekane joined the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) in 1973 and later founded Manidem in 1995. He had previously been arrested in 1990 as part of the Yondo Black group, tried in a military court, and later pardoned.
Ekane led Manidem for several years and ran for president in 2004 and 2011. News of his death has prompted widespread reactions on social media.
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