Cameroonian opposition figure Ekane dies in detention, lawyer says

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By Amindeh Blaise Atabong

YAOUNDE, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Cameroonian opposition leader Anicet Ekane, who supported a bid for president by a rival to the country’s long-serving leader in October, died in detention on Monday, his lawyer and family said, a development that may worsen political tensions.

Ekane, 74, leader of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM) party, was arrested on October 24 following post-election demonstrations, in what his party described as a “kidnapping” by Cameroonian soldiers. 

He was being held on charges of hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection, accusations he denied.

His death in detention could heighten tensions in the central African nation where security forces killed 48 civilians as they responded to protests against the re-election of President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest ruler at 92, who has led his country since 1982. 

Ekane was barely able to speak during a visit just days before his death, his lawyer Ngouana Ulrich Juvenal said. His sister, Mariane Simon-Ekane confirmed the death on Facebook.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday that an investigation into the cause of death was underway, adding that Ekane had died at the National Gendarmerie Military Medical Center in Yaounde, where he had been receiving treatment for a chronic illness from military and personal physicians.

His party said in a statement on November 21 that Ekane’s oxygen concentrator and other essential medical devices he needed were locked in his impounded vehicle at a military police station in the commercial capital Douala.

The party accused the commander of the station of repeatedly blocking lawyers’ efforts to recover Ekane’s medical equipment, calling it a “flagrant human rights violation” that amounted to a “programmed killing.”

Ekane’s detention, along with that of party member Florence Aimee Titcho and other supporters of presidential contender Issa Tchiroma Bakary, had drawn condemnation from opposition groups, which demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

Tchiroma, who fled to Gambia, is being hosted there on humanitarian grounds, according to Gambian authorities.

(Editing by Ayen Deng Bior and Sharon Singleton)