Cameroon Opposition Figure 'Dies Peacefully' in State Custody, Aged 74
Anicet Ekane, a vocal critic of President Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for 42 years, died in state custody. His lawyer says his wife was 'just presented the corpse' with scant explanation, according to the BBC. This 'natural cause' narrative is a well-worn playbook in nations where dissent is a critical illness. Biya's government, consistently cited for human rights abuses by organizations
like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, has a history of silencing opposition through arrests and dubious legal processes. One might wonder if the U.S. State Department, which annually documents these very abuses, will issue more than a strongly worded press release about this latest 'unfortunate' incident. Or perhaps the flow of U.S. aid to Cameroon, which totaled $199 million in 2023
for security and development, makes such inconveniences easier to overlook. After all, stability in geopolitical chess often trumps inconvenient human lives.