When Anicet Ekane's corpse bites!.

The death of one of Cameroon's leading political figures, Anicet Ekane, since December 1, 2025, continues to pose a threat to the Cameroon government.

Evidence is illustrated by numerous fury reactions in Cameroon and abroad, which congest the social and conventional media focused on detention conditions, medical care, blatant lack of humanity, opposition perceived as threats or even insurrection, human rights and political freedoms.

President Biya, in the midst of such acerbic criticisms that have come from the United Nations, European Union, African Union, international human rights defenders and several ‘friendly’ countries, has through the Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman, Emmanuel Sadi Rene, said an investigation will be opened.

The international community has however insisted on an "independent" investigation to ensure the credibility and fairness of the judgement.

But before the probe is ordered, there is already a trial in the court of public opinion, with the presumptive accused, the government. The family of the deceased, the accuser, is evidently backed by a team of lawyers and political friends.

The government has through the ministries of Defence, Communication, Justice and Territorial Administration, publicly confirmed that Anicet Ekane, before his arrest, was ill. That is a fact, irrefutable by his family.

At the weekend, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, in an interview with the Presidency of the Republic, television channel, PCR TV, said: “…being sick is not a license to violate the laws of the Republic...there are people in the hospital whose feet are shackled because, despite treatment, they are guilty of something…so they are paying the price for their guilt.” 

He added that: “Anicet Ekane was given every opportunity to receive medical treatment. I mean every opportunity. The facilities, the benefits…he was seen by doctors. So, I believe the Ministry of Defense's statement is accurate, fair, and sets the record straight.”

As MINAT was defending the government, Djeukam Tchameni, another opposition personality who was arrested alongside the late Anicet Ekane, issued a statement from detention, which is being disseminated in the media. 

He explained that, “the initial fatal blow” to Anicet Ekane, was during the arrest on October 24, 2025 and transported for over five hours on a difficult road from Douala to Yaounde.

He said Anicet Ekane, who suffered from a respiratory condition requiring an oxygen concentrator, had confided in him in detention that he “...I will never recover from this trip.”

Tchameni claimed his oxygen concentrator was confiscated and the one the government provided was “less effective.”

Despite repeated requests from the lawyers, the confiscated device was only returned “after 35 days, following a public outburst by lawyer Nguefack on RFI radio. It was too late,” Tchameni maintained in the statement.

Anicet Ekane is dead but his passage continues to live and bite, raising several concerns and questions. Anicet Ekane's lawyers say no charge had been levied against their client. 

Even if he had been charged, the Criminal Procedure Code in Cameroon imposes “presumption of innocence,” until found guilty through due process.

Legally, Anicet Ekane would have committed no offence since he had not been found guilty by any court. The cause of his death is seen by legal pundits as the main issue at play as being sick is not a death penalty.

Would he have died on December 1, 2025, if he was not in detention? Even if in detention, would he have still been alive if government had given him appropriate medication?

Who determines "appropriate" medical treatment, especially in a country where some convicts have been evacuated abroad for such proper treatment? Was Anicet Ekane tortured while in detention?

Those are some of the questions an independent autopsy report should provide answers so as to determine the transparency and fairness of a credible investigation whenever it is opened, the sooner the better.

But the autopsy has been another issue of cancerous contention, with Anicet Ekane's family lawyers even threatening to sue.

According to various media reports, an autopsy was performed on the corpse on December 3, 2025. Lawyers for the deceased said the family had reservations about the integrity of the forensic experts appointed by the government and wanted independent experts to join the team.

However, some reports noted that the speed of the autopsy procedure was practically mandatory from a medical standpoint, so as to guarantee the reliability of the results.

Delay, according to the same source, would have been to treat the remains with formalin, but it could make blood sampling less reliable. The standoff, claims and counter narratives persist over the death of Anicet Ekane, in the media, diplomacy, human rights and politics.

In such a toxic atmosphere, Anicet Ekane may be dead but his idea isn't extinguished. It lives, raising concerns as Ivorian author, Jean-Marc d’Eburnie, in eulogising him as a freedom fighter, pointed out that a country “...does not progress by eliminating contradiction, but by integrating it. The greatness of a nation is measured by its capacity to protect even those who challenge it. And as long as this principle does not become a political reality, our crises, our divisions, and our backwardness will have no reason to cease.” 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3649 of Monday December 08, 2025