The death of veteran politician Ekane has sparked allegations of medical negligence and deepened the post-election crisis in the country.
Veteran opposition leader Aniset Ekane has died in military custody in Cameroon, her family and legal representatives have said.
France’s public radio RFI reported that Ekane, 74, died on Monday morning in the country’s capital Yaoundé, 38 days after security forces detained him in the port city of Douala.
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His death has sparked widespread outrage and threatens to deepen political turmoil in Cameroon following October’s disputed presidential election in which 92-year-old Paul Biya claimed another term after more than four decades in power.
Aken, leader of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM), a leftist party, was seized on 24 October after supporting Biya’s rival Issa Tchiroma Bekri, who rejected the official results and insisted he had won the vote.
Authorities charged Akane with rebellion and insurrection, charges his party described as politically motivated.
His eldest son, Muna Ekane, told the Associated Press news agency that his father’s condition deteriorated rapidly over the past week, with severe respiratory distress causing difficulty breathing.
“He was having trouble breathing for a week; he was suffocating,” he said. He said the family repeatedly alerted authorities, but “nothing was done.”
Ekane’s lawyer Emmanuel Simh said his client was ill but was denied proper treatment. “We are still in shock and grief,” Simh said. “Ekane did not commit any crime, so we need to know why he was arrested and released.”
Ekane’s party on Sunday issued an urgent appeal demanding his immediate transfer to the civil hospital, and warned that it would hold the government responsible for any consequences.
The Cameroonian government has said that Aken received treatment from military doctors working alongside his personal physicians, and said that an investigation has been launched.
Communications Minister René Emmanuel Saadi expressed regret over the death, while President Biya has ordered an investigation into the circumstances.
But Ekane’s party has described his death as “murder” and the EU delegation expressed “deep sorrow” and reiterated calls for the release of all those arbitrarily detained since the election.
The EU delegation to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea reacted to the death in custody of politician Anisette Georges Ekane… pic.twitter.com/0FTVroVvUc
– L’UE au Cameroun et Guinea Equatorial (@UEauCameroun) 1 December 2025
Ekane devoted nearly five decades to political activism, emerging as a leading figure for multi-party democracy in the early 1990s.
Ekane was seen by his supporters as the political heir to Cameroon’s nationalist heroes, but he witnessed the execution of independence activist Ernest Ounde.
He was a strong advocate of social justice throughout his career.
His death comes amid the ongoing controversy over the action taken after the elections.
While the government claims 16 people were killed in protests following Biya’s declared victory, opposition groups and human rights organizations put the death toll at upwards of 55.
Tchiroma, the candidate supported by Aiken, fled to Gambia last month.
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