The death in custody of a prominent Cameroon opposition leader, Anicet Ekane, should be impartially, promptly, and effectively investigated, Human Rights Watch said today.
Ekane, 74, the leader of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (Mouvement africain pour la nouvelle indépendance et la démocratie, MANIDEM) party, died on December 1, 2025, at the State Defense Secretariat (Secrétariat d'État à la Défense, SED), a detention facility in the capital, Yaoundé. He was detained on October 24 on security charges in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election that confirmed incumbent president Paul Biya, 92, for an eighth term, sparking nationwide protests. Security forces responded to protests with use of excessive force and mass arrests of opposition members and protesters. Many of those arrested, like Ekane, were charged with trumped up security charges when, in reality, they were arrested for their criticism of the election.
"The death in custody of someone who had been detained for his political views raises serious concerns over respect for the rule of law, due process, and detainee rights in Cameroon," said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Ekane's death may be an example of a broader systemic failure to protect the lives and dignity of people deprived of liberty in Cameroon."
Ekane's relatives and lawyers said that prior to the arrest, Ekane suffered severe respiratory distress, and that his health deteriorated rapidly while in detention. They said that despite repeated requests, he was denied proper medical care.
Cameroon's authorities bear responsibility for Ekane's death, as he was in their care when it occurred, and they have obligations to determine the cause of death, establish any liability, hold those responsible to account, and take steps to prevent any further detainee deaths, Human Rights Watch said. If his cause of death is linked to negligence or deliberately inflicted conditions including denial of medical care, those responsible need to be held accountable. Hundreds of other critics in jail across the country face circumstances and detention conditions similar to Ekane's at the time of his death.
Ekane was arrested in Douala, Littoral region, and transferred to SED, a detention facility in Yaoundé where Human Rights Watch has documented routine use of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment. Authorities had charged Ekane with "insurrection" and "incitement to rebellion," among others, accusations that his party said were politically motivated and linked to Ekane's outspoken support for an opposition candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, and rejection of the official results of the vote. His lawyers said Ekane was never taken before a judge, and his detention was arbitrary.
"He struggled breathing and was in a critical condition," said Hippolyte Meli, Ekane's legal counsel. "We had alerted the prison authorities, but he was neither transferred to a civilian hospital nor given necessary treatment, and his oxygen concentrator [which helped him breath] was confiscated at the time of his arrest."
In a December 1 news release, Cameroon's government spokesperson, René Emmanuel Sadi, said Ekane died "following an illness" and had received proper medical attention. On the same day, the head of the communication division of the Ministry of Defense, Captain Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo, said that an investigation had been opened to establish the circumstances of Ekane's death.
On December 1, SED authorities took Ekane's body to the morgue of the Yaoundé central hospital and informed Ekane's family and lawyers that an autopsy was to be carried out on December 2. But Ekane's lawyers formally requested the suspension of the autopsy because the two state-appointed forensic doctors designated to perform the autopsy were selected without the family's consent, and the family was not consulted or permitted to have their own expert present.
Ekane's death comes amid ongoing tensions over the post-electoral government crackdown. On October 26, the day before the Cameroonian Constitutional Council announced the election results, opposition-led protests broke out across the country. Police and gendarmes responded with tear gas and live ammunition to disperse crowds. International media citing United Nations sources said security forces killed 48 people during the protests. Opposition sources who spoke to Human Rights Watch put the death toll at 55.
The authorities have also detained hundreds of people, including minors, on various charges such as "hostility against the homeland," "revolution," and "rebellion," offenses that lawyers say have been applied indiscriminately and are unrelated to the actual acts of protest.
Ekane's death adds to a long record of deaths in custody in Cameroon, a pattern marked by torture, denial of medical care, and pervasive impunity, extensively documented by Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups.
In another example, on January 17, police arrested and detained 36-year-old Abdoul Wahabou Ndandjouma in N'Gaoundéré, in northern Cameroon. The next day, authorities notified his family that he had died. Ndandjouma reportedly suffered severe mistreatment during interrogation. His co-detainee reported hearing his "screams of pain" from an adjacent room.
The UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions provide that there shall be "thorough, prompt and impartial investigation[s]" of all suspected cases of death in custody. The inquiry shall "determine the cause, manner and time of death, the person responsible, and any pattern or practice which may have brought about that death. It shall include an adequate autopsy, collection and analysis of all physical and documentary evidence and statements from witnesses." The detailed methods and findings of the investigation are to be made public, and the government should ensure that anyone identified by the investigation as having participated in an unlawful killing are brought to justice.
"To ensure that the promised investigation is independent and impartial, authorities should seek the support of international human rights experts within the United Nations or African Union," Allegrozzi said. "The government should also ensure that all political detainees receive timely, adequate health care and full legal protections, and release all those unjustly detained."
