By Synthia Lateu
The Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) has condemned what it describes as the continued “confiscation” of the mortal remains of Anicet Ekane, National President of MANIDEM, and is demanding their immediate release by the government.
In a press release signed on February 21 by the party’s National President, Maurice Kamto, the CRM urged authorities to return Ekane’s body to his family without delay, describing the prolonged retention as “incomprehensible” and warning that it reinforces perceptions of a “political assassination.”
Anicet Ekane was arrested on October 24, 2025, in Douala and transferred to Yaoundé. Recalling the circumstances of his detention, the CRM said he was “hooded like a wild animal,” and held at the Secretariat of State for Defence (SED), where he was allegedly deprived of a medical device sustaining his life. He died in custody on December 1, 2025.
According to the CRM, more than three months after what it described as a “painful loss,” the circumstances surrounding Ekane’s death remain unclear.
” Worse still, despite the numerous requests addressed to the state authorities, the mortal remains of Anicet EKANE have still not been returned to his family, who are thus deprived, without any known reason, of the body of a loved one and are unable to organise his funeral and finally begin their mourning.” The release stated.
The party further accused the administration of President Paul Biya of failing to respect Ekane’s dignity in death, regardless of political differences.
“Whatever the regime reproached Anicet Ekane for, he did not deserve the odious treatment inflicted upon him at the end of his life, nor the punishment imposed on his family, relatives and members of his political party,” the statement added.
The CRM also linked Ekane’s case to the broader political climate following Cameroon’s 2025 post-election crisis, which saw multiple arrests. Human Rights Watch had earlier reported a “violent crackdown on protesters and ordinary citizens across Cameroon,” describing it as a deepening pattern of repression.
The party is now calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience across the country
