Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
MANIDEM Launched A Vicious Campaign, To Sabotage Ekane’s Funeral, Claiming It Was Being Organized By The CPDM. MANIDEM Leadership Launched Scathing Attacks Against Issa Tchiroma And Djeukam Tchameni, That Accepted The Funeral Programme Fixed By Ekane’s Children, Calling Them Traitors, Accusing Them Of Working With Enemies To Destroy MANIDEM. How!
MANIDEM, And Widow, Announced Boycott Of Anicet Ekane’s Funeral
Following the decision of the Court of First Instance Bonanjo, Douala, that the children of late Anicet Ekane led by the eldest child, Dr Muna Ekane, should organize his funeral, the children later came up with a funeral programme that had to run from May 6 – 9, 2026. The funeral programme was to culminate with a traditional ceremony, a religious service and the burial of the hero, Anicet Ekane, at his native Bomono –Gare in Bonanguem, in the outskirt of Douala towards Mbanga, on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
But in a communiqué signed on April 28, 2026 by the Vice President of MANIDEM, for the Directorate of the party, it was declared that the MANIDEM Party had nothing to do with the funeral programme issued by late Anicet Ekane’s children. The party leadership claimed that the funeral was being organized by the CPDM, and even warned that MANIDEM’s logo, colour or whatever, should not be used at the funeral, and threatened legal action against any person that violated the order. Anicet Ekane’s widow, Mme Jeanne Edwige Ekane nee Sogue, also again embarrassingly joined the MANIDEM leadership, to also declare that she had nothing to do with the funeral programme fixed to run from May 6-9, 2026.
But despite the smear campaign that was being mounted against them, especially against Dr Muna Ekane, the children of late Anicet Ekane were too civilized and too intelligent to try to fight back, and spoil their father’s funeral. Rather, they repeatedly invited the widow and the MANIDEM Party to join them in the funeral, stressing the fact they had not excluded any person from participating in the funeral, including in its organization. Just before the funeral programme kicked off, Ekane’s children, within the backdrop of the campaign of disinformation and sabotage, organized a press conference in Douala to clarify a number of issues, or better still, to explain their position to the media, and thus to the public, on a number of issues related to the organization of the funeral of their late father, including why they went to court. They again stressed the fact that they had not in any way excluded the widow and MANIDEM from the funeral, and once more invited them to reconsider their positions, and fully participate in their own rights, in the funeral.
Maurice Kamto And His MRC, Also Decide To Stay Away From Anicet Ekane’s Funeral
Prof Maurice Kamto’s MRC, was the only opposition party that decided not to attend the funeral of late prominent opposition figure and National President of MANIDEM, Anicet Ekane, following the controversial decision of MANIDEM to boycott the funeral. The decision was taken by the Directorate of MRC. However, MRC explained that the decision was not about boycotting the funeral of Anicet Ekane. Rather MRC explained that the relationship that the party had with Ekane as leader of MANIDEM or with the MANIDEM Party, was a political relationship. It should be noted that before April 2025, MANIDEM and MRC used to have a strained relationship, with frequent attacks and counter attacks. But then in June 2025, the President of FCC, Hon Jean Michel Nintcheu, an ally of MRC and a good friend of Anicet Ekane, succeeded to strike a deal between MANIDEM and MRC, for the President of MANIDEM, to sign the investiture for Prof Maurice Kamto, for him to run for the October 12, 2025 presidential election, on the ticket of MANIDEM. That now created a relationship between MRC and MANIDEM. MRC officials insist that there was no special relationship between Kamto and Ekane, but rather a political relationship between MRC and MANIDEM. MRC officials thus explained that in such a situation, the party would have attended Ekane’s funeral at Bomono – Gare in Bonanguem, Dibombari Sub –division on May 9, 2026, if MANIDEM was involved. It was recalled that the MRC’s leader, Prof Maurice Kamto, and some of his close collaborators, in the name of the party, attended Anicet Ekane’s corpse removal at the mortuary of the Yaounde Central Hospital on March 3, 2026, because MANIDEM was involved. But the party officials said since MANIDEM had decided not to participate in the funeral, it was thus not possible for MRC to attend the funeral.
But then not all members of the National Directorate of MRC, agreed with the decision that the party should not attend the funeral of Anicet Ekane, because of the controversial decision by the MANIDEM leadership to boycott the funeral. A member of the National Directorate of MRC, Willy Mengue, for example, in a social media post, urged the National President of the party, Prof Maurice Kamto, to attend the funeral of Anicet Ekane, a hero in the fight for democracy in Cameroon. Mengue said Kamto’s absence would be considered as a desecration of the memory of Anicet Ekane. However the MRC leader, Maurice Kamto, did not attend the funeral of Anicet Ekane on May 9, 2026.
MANIDEM Leadership Attacks Djeukam Tchameni, Incarcerated At Kondengui Prison
It should first of all be recalled that veteran politician, Djeukam Tchameni, was the Co – leader with Anicet Ekane, of the political platform, Union For Change 2025, that in Yaounde on September 13, 2025, declared that the FSNC leader and presidential candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, was the platform’s candidate for the October 12, 2025 presidential election. Both Ekane and Djeukam were arrested in Douala on October 24, 2025, and whisked off to Yaounde, where they were detained at the National Gendarmerie Headquarters commonly known by the French acronym, SED. When Anicet Ekane died at the Military Medical Centre of the National Gendarmerie in Yaounde on December 1, 2025, Djeukam Tchameni was moved to the Yaounde Central Prison commonly known as Kondengui Prison, to apparently await trial at the Yaounde Military Tribunal.
Meanwhile from the Kondengui Prison, Djeukam Tchameni announced that he would designate some members of his party, to represent him and the party at the funeral of Anicet Ekane on May 9, 2026, and that Union for Change was also to be represented. The leadership of MANIDEM immediately issued a communiqué signed by party’s Vice President, Valentin Dogmo Fils, in which the veteran politician, Djeukam Tchameni, was embarrassingly blasted as a political opportunist. The MANIDEM communiqué said Djeukam Tchameni has over the years benefited a number of times from the generosity of the UPCists, to gain a reputation in politics. The communiqué also claimed that Djeukam Tchameni, who as aforementioned was arrested with Anicet Ekane since October 24, 2025, and has been in detention since then, has been exploiting the weakness of MANIDEM following the death of its President (Anicet Ekane), to associate himself with MANIDEM’s enemies to position himself, and participate in the destruction of the party. Whereas Anicet Ekane and Djeukam Tchameni were the Co – Leaders of Union For Change from its creation, the leadership of MANIDEM said Djeukam was dishonestly claiming to be talking in the name of Union For Change. “Il n’en ni le droit , ni la capacite”, meaning that Djeukam neither has the right nor the capacity to talk in the name of Union For Change. Real Madness!
MANIDEM Accused Issa Tchiroma Of Alleged Betrayal
The leadership of MANIDEM resorted to do the only thing, that the party excels in, which was to blackmail, attack or raise false allegations against any personality or political party, that talked in favour of attending the funeral of Anicet Ekane at Bomono –Gare in Bonaguem on May 9, 2026, as scheduled by the children of late Ekane.
When the funeral programme of Anicet Ekane was published on the Facebook page of Issa Tchiroma , Bakary on May 5, 2026, with a message to Cameroonians to massively turn out to bid farewell to the national hero, Anicet Ekane, MANIDEM leadership immediately launched missiles against Tchiroma. In a communiqué signed by the Vice President of MANIDEM, Valentin Dogmo Fils, the party leadership accused Issa Tchiroma Bakary of a political betrayal.
“Pour Le Bureau Politique du MANIDEM, ceci est la confirmation official de soutien de M. Issa Tchiroma Bakary a l’operation de destruction de notre parti entrerprise par le RDPC et nombre d’acteurs politiques, depuis que notre parti a investi Maurice Kamto en Juillet 2025 comme candidat a la presidentielle d’Octobre 2025. Ceci est le dernier act the rupture de l’accord que nos croyions avoir avec M.Tchiroma dans le cadre de l”Union pour le Changement. Le MANIDEM en prendre acte”.Approximate translation: “For the Political Bureau of MANIDEM, this is an official confirmation of the support by M. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, to an operation to destroy our party, undertaken by the CPDM since our party gave investiture to Maurice Kamto in July 2025 for the presidential election of October 2025. This is the last act of the rupture of the accord which we thought we had with M. Tchiroma in Union For Change. MANIDEM has taken note”. Madness, indeed!
MANIDEM in the communiqué accused Issa Tchiorma of having purportedly stabbed the party in the rib, but said the betrayal did not surprise the party. The MANIDEM communiqué alleged that since the arrest of Anicet Ekane and his death in Gendarmerie custody, all attempts by the party to communicate with M. Tchiroma failed. The communiqué alleged that Tchiroma allegedly decided “to cut the bridge” that linked him with MANIDEM, and to instead support the destruction of MANIDEM. The party once more called on the population not to take part in the funeral of Anicet Ekane that was scheduled on May 9, again repeating its fallacious claim that it was a ceremony organized by the CPDM.
