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By Hippolite Ikome
Speaking with deep emotion, Muna Ekane, eldest son of the late Georges Anicet Theodore Ekane, shared the personal toll of his father’s death. He revealed that he cannot listen to the tribute songs composed for him by a young Cameroonian artist and by world renowned bassist Richard Bona because they immediately trigger tears. He has never been able to listen to them until the end. Through Panorama Papers, he humbly asks Richard Bona to consider releasing the full version of the homage dedicated to his father, describing the piece as poignant and profoundly meaningful.
Turning to the circumstances of his father’s death, Muna Ekane delivers a harsh indictment of the Cameroonian state. He argues that when a citizen placed under the protection of the state instead dies in the custody of that same state, the act must be considered a grave failure of public authority. He recalls that during recent protests, sixty demonstrators were shot at point blank range by security forces, despite the fact that non lethal crowd control methods exist.
According to him, the Cameroonian state has ceased to exist in any meaningful sense. He questions how a country endowed with vast natural resources is unable to provide basic drinking water, reliable electricity, or adequate roads. He recounts that when he left Douala in 1995 to pursue his studies abroad, the city had potable water, permanent electricity, and functioning road networks. Thirty years later, he says, Douala has no reliable drinking water, daily power outages, and roads so flooded that the city has become a subject of ridicule across Africa.
He also criticizes what he calls the government’s repeated lies about the existence of fully equipped reference hospitals across all regions. He questions why, if such hospitals truly exist, his father was kept in a prison infirmary instead of being transferred to one of these so called regional medical centers. For him, the inability or unwillingness of the authorities to provide appropriate medical care is evidence of systemic neglect.
Muna Ekane also strongly condemns the recent public statements made by senior government officials, including the Minister Delegate for Justice, who published elements of his father’s medical file on social media without the family’s consent.
He insists that some of the information shared is false and that the narrative being spread is intended to mislead the public. He challenges the minister’s claim that one of his siblings visited their father in detention, stating that he has asked for the identity of this alleged family member since he knows exactly where all his brothers and sisters were during that period.
Georges Anicet Theodore Ekane, a prominent political figure and vocal critic of the government, died in custody amid growing concerns about the treatment of political detainees in Cameroon. His family has repeatedly denounced what they describe as harsh conditions of detention, medical negligence, and political persecution. His death sparked multiple reactions, including artistic tributes that deeply moved the nation and the diaspora. The government continues to deny responsibility, but the controversy surrounding his medical care, the release of his medical file, and the overall decline of public services in Cameroon has intensified scrutiny on state institutions.
