Panorama papers
By Hippolyte Ikome
In a long account, president Djeukam Tchameni, who was detained alongside Anicet Ekane, asserts that his political comrade was killed. According to his testimony, Ekane’s death, recorded on December 1, 2025 in the infirmary of the State Secretariat for Defense, was the direct result of a sequence of violence, negligence and deliberate decisions. He first describes what he calls the initial fatal blow during their arrest on October 24, 2025. The two men were allegedly apprehended by agents of the national intelligence services, without a warrant, by hooded operatives, and transported for more than five hours on a difficult road.
For Ekane, who suffered from a respiratory condition requiring an oxygen extractor, the journey was unbearable. At the Sed, he reportedly told Tchameni he would never recover from that trip. According to the statement, the agents confiscated the oxygen device that was essential to Ekane. The infirmary at the Sed had another device, but one considered less effective. Despite repeated requests from lawyers, the confiscated machine was returned only after thirty five days, following a public outcry by attorney Nguefack on international radio. By then, Tchameni says, it was too late.
Ekane is said to have died after irreversible deterioration of his respiratory condition. The author of the statement claims that the arrest was political and strategic. Detained twelve days after the claimed electoral victory of opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary and three days before the contested proclamation of results declaring Paul Biya the winner, the Upc 2025 leadership believes they were neutralized for having engineered what they describe as a crushing defeat of the ruling party’s candidate. They accuse the security forces of having used lethal force against opponents and of causing dozens of deaths in the days following the post election crisis.
When addressing the question of who ordered the arrests, Tchameni points to former president Paul Biya, whom he accuses of initiating the preventive detentions. He however raises doubts about Biya’s actual control of power at the time, suggesting that members of his entourage may have been acting in his name amid a deep institutional crisis. According to Tchameni, Anicet Ekane was assassinated in two stages. He argues that the combination of physical violence, deliberate deprivation of medical care and the confiscation of a vital medical device constitutes homicide. The tribute ends with a solemn farewell, hailing Ekane as a fighter who pursued the right struggle.
Anicet Ekane, a prominent opposition figure in Cameroon, died on December 1, 2025 at the Sed, where he had been held since his arrest on October 24. His death has generated extensive political and public reaction, with several actors denouncing a death in custody in an extremely tense post election context. The testimony of Djeukam Tchameni adds to a series of statements accusing security forces and state institutions of abuse during the arrest of opponents following the October 12, 2025 presidential election.
