Bar Association’s rights commission condemns circumstances surrounding Anicet Ekane´s death.

This was in an official communique titled, “Statement on the tragic death of Mr Anicet Ekane in police custody”, signed by Barrister Dorcas Nkongme, Vice President of the Bar. The Cameroon Bar Council stated that the Human Rights Commission of its association was saddened to learn that the President of MINADEM died on December 1, 2025, in Yaounde, while under police custody at the Central Judicial Investigation Service, SCRJ.

The Commission said the demise raises serious concerns about respect for the fundamental rights of detainees in general, and political detainees in particular.

Alleged human rights violations

According to the Commission, there were glaring elements surrounding the arrest and detention of the deceased that highlight the likelihood of serious human rights violations.

The first being, what the Commission said, is the illegal arrest of Ekane in Douala by unidentified individuals without a warrant. Ekane was then taken away in a vehicle and driven to the SCRJ premises in Yaounde. He was reported to have only been notified of the reasons for his arrest on October 29, 2025, during his hearing, accused of incitement to revolt, revolt, hostility against the homeland, and calls for insurrection.

Without any previous case file establishing the facts under which he was being prosecuted and allowing the deceased to defend himself, the Bar said the MINADEM President was kept in custody until he died 38 days later as claimed in a statement issued thereafter by the Ministry of Defence.

This, the Bar Association Rights Commission said, is tantamount to 38 days of illegal detention; with the illegal arrests and detention constituting an unacceptable violation of the deceased’s rights to a fair trial, liberty and security, and human dignity, as enshrined in international and national legal instruments that require a legal basis for arrest and detention and prohibit abusive police custody.

The Bar referred the government to the provisions of the preamble of the Constitution of Cameroon; Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by Cameroon on June 27, 1984; Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and People´s Rights, ratified by Cameroon on December 29, 1987, and Article 119 and 121 of the Cameroon Code of Criminal Procedure. 

It also cited the provisions of Article 119 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, “(a) The period of police custody may not exceed forty-eight (48) hours, renewable once, (b) with the written authorization of the Public Prosecutor, this period may, in exceptional cases, be renewed twice”.

The Commission also faulted the government for violation of the right to health of the deceased; and violation of his right of access to lawyers. It urged the government to conduct an independent, prompt and transparent investigation into the exact causes of Anicet Ekane´s death and the conditions of his police custody.

The Commission also called on the authorities to bring to justice all those involved in the violation of the rights of the deceased, and guarantee respect for the fundamental rights of all detainees and suspects in custody, including political detainees, in accordance with international and national human rights instruments. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3645 of Thursday December 04, 2025