Veteran politician Ekne’s death sparked allegations of medical negligence and deepened the country’s post-election crisis.
Published on 1 December 2025
Veteran opposition figure Aniset Ekane has died in military custody in Cameroon, his family and legal representatives said.
Ekane, 74, died on Monday morning in the country’s capital Yaounde, 38 days after security forces detained him in the port of Douala, France’s public radio RFI said.
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His death has sparked widespread outrage and threatens to deepen political turmoil in Cameroon after October. Controversial The presidential election, in which 92-year-old Paul Biya sought another term after more than four decades in power.
Ekane, the leader of the left-wing African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), was detained on October 24 after supporting an opponent of Biya. Isa Tchiroma Goatwho has Rejected Official results and insists he won the vote.
Authorities charged Ekane with rebellion and sedition, accusing his party of being politically motivated.
His eldest son, Muna Eka, told the Associated Press news agency that his father’s condition had deteriorated rapidly in the past week, with acute respiratory distress causing him to struggle to breathe.
“For a week, he was having trouble breathing; he was suffocating,” they said, adding that the family repeatedly notified the authorities, but “nothing was done.”
Aiken’s lawyer, Emmanuel Sim, said his client was ill but was denied proper treatment. “We are still in shock and grief,” Sim said. “Ekane has committed no crime, so we need to know why he was arrested and released.”
Ekne’s party had issued an urgent appeal on Sunday demanding his immediate transfer to a civil hospital and warned that the government would be responsible for any consequences.
Cameroon’s government has said that Aiken received treatment from military doctors working with his personal doctor and that an investigation has been launched.
Communications Minister Rene Emmanuel Saadi has expressed grief over the death, while President Biya has ordered an investigation into the situation.
But Aiken’s party called his death an “assassination” and the European Union delegation expressed “deep sorrow” and called for renewed calls for the release of all those arbitrarily detained since the election.
EU delegations to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea react to the death in custody of politician Aniset Georges Ekane… pic.twitter.com/0FTVroVvUc
— For the EU and Equatorial Guinea in Cameroon (@UEauCameroun) 1 December 2025
Ekane devoted nearly five decades to political activism, emerging as a key figure for multiparty democracy in the early 1990s.
Aiken was seen by his supporters as the political heir to Cameroon’s nationalist heroes, but he witnessed the execution of freedom fighter Ernest Oandi.
He remained a passionate advocate of social justice throughout his career.
His death comes amid ongoing controversy over the post-election crackdown.
While Govt claims Protests following Biya’s declared victory left 16 people dead, with opposition groups and human rights organizations putting the toll at over 55.
Chiroma, supported by candidate Ekane, ran away to Gambia last month.