Cameroon's leading opposition leader, Anicet Ekane, has died after weeks of detention at the age of 74, his lawyers and family said Monday, alleging that he had struggled to breathe but was not given proper care.
Ekane, 74, leader of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (Manidem) party, was arrested on 24 October in Douala following post-election demonstrations in what his party described as a "kidnapping" by Cameroonian soldiers.
He was being held at a military garrison in the capital Yaoundé on charges of hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection – accusations he denied.
Ekane was among opposition figures who objected to the result of the 12 October election in which Paul Biya, the world’s oldest president at 92, was declared the winner of another term.
Rival candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed to have won and has called on Cameroonians to reject the official result.
Ekane's death in detention could heighten tensions in the central African nation where security forces killed 48 civilians as they responded to protests against Biya's re-election.
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Demands for transfer refused
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.
Alarmed by the decline in his health, his party Manidem issued a statement on Sunday calling for his urgent transfer to another hospital where he could receive "more suitable and appropriate" medical care.
In an earlier statement on 21 November, his party said 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.
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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".
In Sunday's statement the party warned it "would hold the Yaoundé regime responsible for the consequences of refusing the transfer".
Cameroon's defence ministry confirmed Ekane's death on Monday, saying he died “following an illness". It said an investigation has been opened into the circumstances.
Tchiroma supporter
Ekane was a major figure in Cameroon politics, active in public and political life since the early 1990s.
He first supported opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who was banned from running, before backing the main presidential contender Tchiroma.
Following the announcement of his death, several local media outlets interrupted regular programming to broadcast live reports. Messages of grief and tributes poured in on social media.
Ekane's detention, along with that of party member Florence Aimee Titcho and other supporters of Tchiroma, had drawn condemnation from opposition groups, which demanded their immediate and unconditional release.
Tchiroma fled to Gambia and is being hosted there on humanitarian grounds, according to Gambian authorities.
(with newswires)
