Serious concerns are growing over the health condition of opposition leader Anicet Georges Ekane, currently held at the Medical Centre of the National Gendarmerie in Yaoundé. The MANIDEM party president, who has been detained for nearly a month, is reportedly oxygen-dependent and unable to breathe properly without the medical device confiscated from him at the time of his arrest.
According to information shared by his legal counsel, Barrister Hippolyte Meli, his oxygen concentrator, described as essential to his survival is still being held by the Littoral Gendarmerie Legion in Douala. Despite formal requests from his doctors and lawyers, authorities have not returned the equipment, and his defense team says his condition is worsening.
Ekane was arrested in the tense aftermath of the presidential election. His supporters fear the treatment he is receiving is politically motivated, suggesting that his detention and the refusal to provide adequate medical care amount to a deliberate attempt to neutralize him as an opposition voice.
His lawyers further warn that the facility where he is being held is not properly equipped to treat a patient in his condition. They have requested that he be urgently transferred to the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital, which they argue is better prepared to handle his medical needs. They have also raised the possibility of medical evacuation if necessary. However, the requests have so far been ignored.
The situation has triggered widespread concern from his family, political allies, and human rights advocates, who fear that continued delays could lead to a preventable tragedy. Ekane’s defense insists that the treatment he is currently receiving violates the Mandela Rules, which guarantee detainees access to necessary healthcare and prohibit neglect that puts their lives at risk.
The lack of clarity from security authorities regarding the whereabouts of the oxygen device has further heightened anxiety. His supporters say there is growing fear that the situation is “planned,” pointing to what they view as a clear pattern of obstruction surrounding his access to medical assistance.
As pressure increases on state authorities to act, the case has once again sparked discussions on the treatment of political detainees in Cameroon and the responsibility of security institutions to ensure the protection of fundamental human rights, even in the context of ongoing political tensions.
