Following the death of the President of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy party – MANIDEM, Anicet EKANE Georges, on December 1, 2025 at the Military Medical Center of the National Gendarmerie in Yaoundé, an investigation was opened in order to elucidate the actual circumstances of his passing.
In a press release made public on February 24, 2026, the Communication department of the Ministry of Defence says Anicet Ekane Georges died of natural causes. Conducted by a panel made up of a professor and two medical doctors revealed “a complete absence of traumatic injuries and the existence of serious underlying medical conditions that led to the death of a patient with a delicate medical history.”
“ The Ministry of Defense communicates:
Following the death of Mr. EKANE Anicet Georges, aged 74, which occurred at dawn on December 1, 2025, at the Military Medical Center of the National Gendarmerie in Yaoundé, and in order to elucidate the actual circumstances of his passing, an investigation was opened by the Inspectorate General of the National Gendarmerie, while a forensic autopsy was simultaneously ordered.
From this administrative investigation, it appears, on one hand, that the arrest and police custody of Mr. EKANE Anicet Georges were the result of his involvement in violent protests recorded in Douala before and after the publication of the results of the October 12, 2025, presidential election; and on the other hand, that his death occurred while the judicial inquiry opened into various legal grievances was still ongoing.
The forensic autopsy report—produced by a panel consisting of one Professor and two Doctors of Medicine, based on the results of supplementary examinations carried out at the University Center of Legal Medicine (CURML) in Switzerland—was submitted to the Government Commissioner at the Yaoundé Military Tribunal on Monday, February 23, 2026.
The findings reveal a total absence of traumatic injury and the existence of severe pathologies that claimed the life of a patient with a heavy medical history. Said report concluded that it was a death by natural causes.
Consequently, on this same Monday, February 23, 2026, the Government Commissioner ordered the removal of the legal seals, thereby allowing the body to be placed at the disposal of the victim’s rightful heirs by the Management of the Yaoundé Central Hospital.”
About the deceased
Anicet Ekane (1951-2025) was a Cameroonian politician, a major figure of the nationalist left, and president of the MANIDEM (African Movement for New Independence and Democracy). A long-standing opponent since the 1980s, he passed away in detention at the Secretariat of State for Defense (SED) in Yaoundé on December 1, 2025, following his arrest in October 2025 for supporting a post-electoral protest.
