Cameroonian opposition figure Anicet Ekane died on Monday morning while in detention in Yaounde, the country’s capital. He was 74.
The vice president of his party, the African Movement for the New Independence of Cameroon (Manidem), Valentin Dongmo, confirmed the death.
He told journalists that Ekane died in Yaounde, where he had been held since his arrest in late October in Douala.
The exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
Ekane, a left-wing nationalist and long-time critic of the regime, was arrested on October 24, one day before the release of presidential election results that returned 92-year-old Paul Biya to power for an eighth term.
Biya has ruled Cameroon for 43 years.
Ekane was a close ally of fellow opposition figure Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who rejected the official election results and challenged Biya’s continued hold on power after the October 12 vote.
According to Dongmo, Ekane was first detained in Douala before being transferred to Yaounde and placed under the custody of the State Defence Secretariat (SED). He said Ekane’s health deteriorated while he was in detention.
“We repeatedly alerted the authorities, including the military court administration, asking that Anicet Ekane be moved to a hospital with the right facilities for proper medical care, but our requests were ignored,” Dongmo said.
He added that Ekane’s supporters had renewed calls for a “medical evacuation” just yesterday, but the move never happened.
Ekane and several other opposition figures were detained for publicly supporting Bakary’s self-proclaimed victory ahead of the publication of official results.
Manidem condemned the arrests, describing them as “arbitrary” and aimed at “intimidating” Cameroonians.