Georges Anicet Ekane, a 74-year-old veteran of Cameroon's democratic opposition, died in gendarmerie custody on December 1, five weeks after his arrest during post-election demonstrations. His death at the National Gendarmerie Military Medical Center in Yaoundé has triggered sharply conflicting accounts: government officials assert he received proper care and have opened an investigation, while his family, lawyers, and party allege systematic medical neglect that amounted to "programmed killing."
The custody death crystallizes the accountability crisis gripping Cameroon since the disputed October 12 presidential poll, in which 92-year-old President Paul Biya—in power since 1982—was declared victor. Ekane's case exposes the opacity surrounding military detention, the blurred boundary between security operations and political policing, and the governance pattern that has characterized Yaoundé's response to dissent from the Anglophone conflict through this election cycle.
Arrest and deterioration
Gendarmes arrested Ekane, president of MANIDEM (Mouvement africain pour la nouvelle indépendance et la démocratie), on October 24 in Douala as protests erupted across multiple cities. He was transferred to Yaoundé and held at the Secretariat of State for Defence (SED), facing accusations of hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection—charges he denied. According to counsel cited by BBC Afrique, Ekane was never presented to a judge nor formally charged in court.
The week before his death, his condition deteriorated sharply. His son Muna Ekane told the Associated Press that his father struggled to breathe and his health worsened over that period. "He was diagnosed while in detention but no proper treatment was followed. He had difficulties eating. We spent the whole week alerting public authorities about his worsening health situation but nothing was done," his family stated. Lawyer Ngouana Ulrich Juvénal told Reuters and BBC that Ekane was barely able to speak during a visit days before he died.
A November 21 MANIDEM statement, reported by Reuters, alleged that Ekane's oxygen concentrator and essential medical devices had been locked in his impounded vehicle at a Douala military police station, and that repeated attempts by family and counsel to retrieve the equipment were blocked by the station commander. The party called this obstruction a "flagrant human rights violation" and a "programmed killing."
Members are reading: Why Ekane's custody death reveals a systemic accountability vacuum that threatens to deepen Cameroon's post-election legitimacy crisis.
International pressure and next steps
The European Union Delegation to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea expressed "deep sadness" at Ekane's death, calling him a veteran of pluralism since the 1990s, and reiterated calls to release all arbitrarily detained since the election. According to BBC Afrique, security forces encircled MANIDEM headquarters in the hours following news of his death. MANIDEM and allied UPC-Manidem factions have termed the death "murder" and a "crime d'État."
The government's investigation faces immediate credibility challenges. For the inquiry to carry weight, it must include an independent autopsy, full disclosure of medical records and detention logs, and accountability for any officials who obstructed access to life-saving equipment. Equally critical is the broader demand for transparent accounting of all detainees held since October 12, their legal status, and their physical condition.
Without such measures, Ekane's death will deepen the legitimacy deficit afflicting Yaoundé. The choice now is whether Cameroon's authorities treat this as a juncture for accountability and de-escalation—releasing arbitrarily held detainees, ensuring judicial oversight of remaining cases, and allowing credible investigation—or whether the pattern of opacity, contested tolls, and security-managed politics continues. Each unaccounted custody death, each impounded oxygen machine, writes the script for the next phase of this crisis.
Amara Okonkwo
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