A Public Statement by Akere Muna, Barrister at Law
EKANE Anicet Georges, a prominent and unwavering political leader.
The official communiqué from the Ministry of Defence has landed with the heavy finality of a tombstone. It announces the profoundly saddening news of the passing of EKANE Anicet Georges, a prominent and unwavering political leader. He died in a military hospital, after nearly eight weeks in detention for so-called “serious offenses” within the purview of the military court.
This is not merely the loss of a man; it is the extinguishing of a fierce and passionate flame that burned for multi-party politics and for the democratic and political emancipation of our country. His commitment was boundless.
My first encounter with Anicet Ekane was in the early 1990s, within the stark walls of the Military Court in Yaoundé. He stood alongside Djeukam Tchameni, Batonnier Yondo Black, and seven others, all awaiting trial under the ominous accusation of “subversion.” Anicet bore the extra, chilling charge of “insulting the President.” We were all younger then, filled with a tense hope that the law and reason would prevail.
Today, as the Bar Association mobilizes to lay our revered Batonnier Yondo Black to rest, and as our nation still staggers, finding its footing after the most controversial election in its history, we are dealt this second, shocking blow. The news of Anicet’s departure under these circumstances is a wound upon a wound. And as we mourn, Djeukam Tchameni remains in detention, one name among a swelling and tragic list estimated now at over 3,000 citizens.
The defence ministry’s own communiqué acknowledges a grim fact: Anicet Ekane was gravely ill even before his detention. A fact he himself reiterated to me, with characteristic resilience, the last time we spoke. There had already been a false alert about his demise three weeks ago—a tremor warning of the coming earthquake.
One would have thought that basic humanity, the fundamental presumption of innocence, and the undeniable evidence of his failing health would have compelled his release to his family and the care of the medical experts who knew his condition. Instead, in a posture of total disregard for human dignity, he was denied the simple, sacred right to spend his last moments on this earth surrounded by loved ones. What ruthless monster is our country becoming that it cages its sick and denies them a final embrace? Every Cameroonian patriot must look into this abyss and ask this question with unwavering courage.
So, like Martin Luther King Jr., whose dream was deferred, Anicet Ekane, as he breathed his last, could legitimately affirm: “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Like Moses, and like Martin Luther King, Anicet Ekane climbed a difficult mountain. He reached the mountaintop and saw the promised land of a free, democratic, and just Cameroon. He did not get to enter it with us, but his struggle, his passion, and his unyielding faith have paved the path. His contribution ensures that our people, guided by his vision, will one day arrive.
So go then, Anicet. Your long and weary struggle is over. Rest now in eternity, in the peace you were denied in life, and know this: your people will be free.
Akere Muna