Lawyers clarify health condition of detained MANIDEM leader, Anicet Ekane.

Barrister Hyppolyte Meli, a member of the Cameroon Bar Association and counsel for Ekane, made the clarification on television station, Canal 2 International, Thursday, October 30, 2025. This followed widespread reports claiming the opposition figure had died in detention.

 “I cannot say that President Ekane is doing very well. His health has not improved, but it has not worsened either,” Barrister Meli explained.

He, however, denounced the conditions under which his client is being held, describing them as “stressful and unsuitable for a sick man”. According to him, Ekane is currently admitted in a military health facility where he occupies a private room under constant guard by two gendarmes.

“The continuous presence of two gendarmes in his room — people who are neither family nor friends — adds psychological pressure and further deteriorates his fragile condition,” the lawyer lamented.

Meli called for the immediate release of his client, arguing that he needs appropriate medical care and family support to recover.

“This situation is unjust. This is not how a person with a known health condition should be treated. He needs to be with his family to receive proper care and emotional support. We urge that his deprivation of liberty ends immediately,” he appealed.

Anicet Ekane, a vocal supporter of Issa Tchiroma Bakary, was arrested in Douala, alongside other party members, on Friday October 24 and later transferred to Secretariat of State for Defence, known by its French acronym, SED, in Yaoundé, where he is under investigation on charges of hostility against the nation, incitement to revolt, and calling for protest. 

His health, which was already fragile at the time of his arrest, is said to have deteriorated since his transfer to SED.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3614 of Monday November 03, 2025