Panorama papers
Par Ilyass Chirac Poumie
Speaking to Panorama Papers, Muna Ekane explains why he chose to break his silence following the sudden death of his father. He says his intervention comes in response to attempts at political exploitation and what he describes as a deliberate effort to distort the ideals his father stood for throughout his life.
According to him, his father — who had been detained for several months — suffered from a chronic but stabilized pulmonary condition that posed no immediate danger. He denounces what he calls “inhumane” detention conditions, including the authorities’ decision to transport him repeatedly, while hooded, despite his seriously weakened physical state. These elements, he argues, amount either to criminal negligence or to an intentional attempt on his father’s life. Rumors regarding multiple severe illnesses are, he insists, entirely false, and he says he has medical records proving his father’s actual health condition.
Muna also recounts an episode of political blackmail: individuals close to the regime allegedly offered his father a government position in exchange for abandoning his convictions and struggles. He says his father categorically refused.
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He further describes the authorities’ rush to conduct an autopsy just 48 hours after the death — without the family’s authorization. For him, this forced procedure raises serious concerns about what really happened in the final hours of Georges Anicet Théodore Ekane.
The family has assembled a legal team that will conduct investigations both in Cameroon and internationally, not only into the circumstances of his father’s death but also into other victims of what they call the same political system. Muna insists on the need to preserve all medical equipment and records related to his father’s final treatments in order to allow for independent expert reviews.
During the interview, he also addressed a message to the Cameroonian people and the international community. Citing his father’s calls for popular mobilization, he condemned what he describes as an “absent” State — unable to provide clean water, electricity, or a functional healthcare system despite the country’s considerable resources.
He also denounced government officials who publicly disclose private medical information or mock the suffering of ordinary citizens and of his father.
The full interview will be released this afternoon in a 30-minute format on our YouTube channel and across all multimedia platforms.
Georges Anicet Théodore Ekane died on December 1, 2025 inside the premises of the Secretariat of State for Defense, under circumstances that remain unclear.
His family, political comrades, and several human rights organizations describe his death in custody as an act attributable to the regime, amid a climate of political repression. Reactions have been pouring in for days, while Cameroonian authorities maintain their official narrative and have yet to address concerns regarding his detention conditions, medical treatment, and the non-consensual autopsy.
