Titan of Cameroon's opposition politics John Fru Ndi dies at 81

FILE PHOTO: Presidential candidate John Fru Ndi from the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) speaks at his final campaign rally outside the national stadium a day before Cameroon's presidential election in Yaounde October 8, 2011. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye (CAMEROON - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)/File Photo

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Veteran Cameroonian opposition leader John Fru Ndi, who for decades fought to topple long-standing president Paul Biya at the ballot box, has died aged 81, his party said.

Fru Ndi, who dominated the opposition in the Central African country for a generation and was arrested and kidnapped for his politics, had been suffering from a long illness, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) said in a statement overnight.