Left-wing Cameroonian opposition figure Anicet Ekane has died in detention, five weeks after he was arrested, his lawyers and party have announced.
Ekane, 74, was among the leaders of an opposition coalition who endorsed Issa Tchiroma Bakary in October's presidential election.
Tchiroma Bakary claims he was the rightful winner of the poll, officially won by 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya. Tchiroma Bakary has since fled to The Gambia.
No official cause of Ekane's death has been announced. His party has accused the authorities of denying him access to his medication - a charge the government has denied.
According to a spokesman for Ekane's African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (Manidem) party, Ekane died on Monday morning at a military medical facility, after his health worsened over the weekend.
We have no clarification... His wife had been called to come and when she found herself there, she was just presented the corpse of her husband, he said.
He added that the family later took the corpse to the mortuary.
Defence ministry spokesman Capt Cyrille Serge Atonfack confirmed Ekane's death but suggested he suffered from various chronic illnesses while in custody.
Ekane, accused of hostility against the state and incitement to revolt, was never formally charged according to his lawyer, who labeled the detention as illegal.
The politician's death has elicited widespread grief and anger, with supporters gathering at the party headquarters in Douala to mourn him.
Authorities have announced an investigation into the circumstances of Ekane's death as tension mounts in the country.
