Togo: activists ask leader to release protesters and resign

President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo made a controversial constitutional move that has triggered protests against the leader and a harsh government clampdown, according to the Associated Press on June 10th. President Gnassingbé is now being called to resign.

The Togolese President has been in power for 20 years, beginning in 2005 after the death of his father who ruled as President of Togo for 38 years.

On May 3rd, Gnassingbé was sworn in as President of the Council of Ministers, one of the most powerful roles in the Togolese government and without official term limit. Gnassingbé is now eligible to be re-elected by parliament indefinitely. 

Opposition politicians have denounced this as a “constitutional coup”, according to the Associated Press.

There has been a much stronger reaction from activist groups, with protests being staged in the capital city Lomé about what is considered a threat to democracy in Togo.

Protests and demonstrations were banned in Togo in 2022 after a fatal attack in Lomé, and the government has clamped down strongly.

80 protesters were arrested, and around half of these were released on June 9th. Activist groups are urging authorities to release those remaining in custody, and are condemning both the arrests and maltreatment of protesters.

The director of Amnesty International’s office in Togo, Aimé Adi, told the Associated Press that “what we know is that several people were beaten during their arrest.” 

Public prosecutor Talaka Mawama has defended the arrests and described the protests as “part of a revolt against the institutions of the Republic.”

As well as the release of prisoners, activists are asking for the end of Gnassingbé’s leadership.

A coalition of political groups known as ‘Hands Off My Constitution’ have stated that “what the Togolese now want is the end of this regime which can no longer offer anything to the people after 20 years of absolute and repressive power of Faure Gnassingbé.”

The pressure that Gnassingbé is under to resign could make him less likely to step down. It’s very possible that he would face trial for human rights violations or corruption, and he would be far from the first.

Maghrebi reported on June 9th about the pattern of former African leaders facing trial, which can be motivated by vengeance from their previous opposition leaders. The opposition and the public are against Gnassingbé, and if he leaves office over this issue he could serve prison time or have to leave the country, as has happened to former presidents of Mauritania and Senegal respectively. 

Associated Press/Maghrebi