Outrage over an attack on Senegalese politician Guy Marius Sagna in Togo · Global Voices

On September 29, 2024, Guy Marius Sagna, a Senegalese politician and member of parliament for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), was attacked at an opposition party conference in Togo. This country is becoming increasingly intolerant of even the mildest form of public criticism.

Togolese conditions for holding public meetings

Although the Togolese Constitution, amended in August 2024, enshrines in its texts the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms for all Togolese citizens, another law establishing the conditions for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly restricts this fundamental freedom. Article 6 of this law stipulates that organizers must first inform the relevant local authorities for approval. However, as explained in Article 8, certain limitations may apply:

The relevant administrative authority cannot announce the meeting or ban a reunion or a public rally organized in a place outside the city and cause trouble to the public. The decision to postpone or ban cannot be based on the fact that the relevant administrative authority and the organizers of the reunification or the rally are unable to avoid problems in the public in the cadre of preliminary discussions.

The responsible administrative authority may only postpone or prohibit a meeting or demonstration in private if this could disrupt public order. You may only postpone or prohibit an event if the responsible authorities and organizers disagree in preliminary discussions about suitable measures to prevent disruption to public order.

According to the World Press Freedom Index 2024 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).Togo ranked 113th out of 180 countries. This often involves peaceful public gatherings and demonstrations for law enforcement restrictions. The most recent example of such restrictions was the forbidden “Don’t touch my condition.” Campaign (a political movement formed to block the constitution reforms) on August 9, 2024.

However, these restrictions have not stopped opposition politicians and civil society actors from voicing their disapproval. This abuse of rights is also criticized at the African level. In a statement released on April 14, 2024, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights criticized Togo for restricting demonstrations in March 2024 when the National Assembly passed a constitutional reform bill that placed Togo under a parliamentary system. Although before the adoption of this new constitution, Togo had a presidential system in which citizens could freely elect their president for a five-year term, Parliament will now elect the next President of the Togolese Republic for a single six-year term.

Attack on foreign politicians in Togo

The The Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA), the Togolese opposition party, held its conference on September 29, 2024, amid an ongoing dispute between the Togolese state and its opposition. Guy Marius Sagna, a member of Senegal’s ruling party, the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics, and Fraternity (PASTEF) attended this conference and represented the ECOWAS Parliament in Togo.

Read: Senegalese Parliamentarian Guy Marius Sagna defends people in ECOWAS Parliament

During this conference, Guy Marius Sagna and around 20 Togolese politicians and journalists were attacked. According to the Togolese civil society, the Collective Associations Against Impunity in Togo (CACIT):

(…) Individuals who are in the meeting and exercise violence against the people present. I am sure that in this deplorable maneuver, push, lay, briquette and paving stones were used, which were aimed primarily at the integrity of the staff, not at Messrs. Guy Marius Sagna and Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson , Secretary General Partial CDPA

(…) People who were obviously present at the meeting suddenly jumped out and launched a bloody attack on those present. During this horrific incident, these individuals reportedly threw punches, chairs, bricks and stones, injuring several people including Guy Marius Sagna and CDPA General Secretary Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson.

On October 1, 2024, Radio France Internationale (RFI) quoted the Togolese National Police as saying that Sagna was aware of the illegality of this conference in advance:

The Togolese National Police assures (…) that it is working hard with the judicial authorities (…) to shed full light on the acts that they produce. (…) Guy Marius Sagna was made aware of the ban on the reunification project and said: “I was informed of the risks that these activities (…) entail in violating civil rights in Togo.”

The Togolese National Police assured that they are working closely with the judicial authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident. Guy Marius Sagna had been duly informed of the ban on the planned conference and the risks associated with activities that violate current law in Togo.

On the night of the incident, government spokesman and Communications Minister Yawa Kouigan told RFI:

It is (…) nice because there is a lot of money and peace in Togo. The deplorable circumstances that we do not negotiate, are not willing to make gratuitous accusations ‘expression, no sont pas en questions.

Because Togo is a country of peace, there was widespread condemnation. The unfortunate circumstances we are talking about must not lead us to make unfounded accusations (…). I also don’t think we should point the finger at Togo and its authorities, as freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are not in question here.

Wave of outrage

In the hours following this attack, reactions and comments flooded social media. On the evening of September 29, 2024, Togolese politician Nathaniel Olympio alerted the public on X (formerly Twitter):

#Togo : Alors que le député du #Senegal @GuyMariusSagna s’entrittait à #Lome With colleagues from the Togolese opposition during the siege of the CDPA party, the meeting was brutally interrupted by a horde of militia.
Bless Guy Marius Sagna.

Dans le Togo dirigé par @FEGnassingbePan-Africanism is the new credo of his life, a rencontre between Africans under the siege of a political party that leads to a reprieve from violent militias that disperse the rencontre. The deputy was transferred to Lomé during a session of the CEDEAO parliament.

To be continued. . . pic.twitter.com/Sx0Hvxahjg

— Nathaniel Olympio (@nathanielolymp) September 29, 2024

#Togo: While the Senegalese politician @GuyMariusSagna spoke with colleagues from the Togolese opposition party at the CDPA party headquarters in #LomeA crowd of militiamen brought the meeting to an abrupt halt.
Guy Marius Sagna was reportedly injured.

In one In Gnassingbé-led Togo, a meeting of African citizens at the headquarters of a political party resulted in a mob of violent militia members breaking up the meeting. The Senegalese politician visited Lomé as part of a delocalized session of the ECOWAS Parliament.

To be continued. . . pic.twitter.com/Sx0Hvxahjg

— Nathaniel Olympio (@nathanielolymp) September 29, 2024

Comments left under Nathaniel Olympio’s post condemned this violence. According to most people, the Gnassingbé family regime, in power since 1967, fears a change to their disadvantage. The late Etienne Eyadéma Gnassingbé was in power from 1967 to 2005, and Faure Gnassingbé has been in power since 2005. The ChicVoisin account commented to X:

The symptoms of the peur. There is a risk that change will come late, but the rest is inevitable.
Work to identify these mercenaries and file them away from their masters until they enter the Togolese residents unassisted.

Question of time…

— ChicVoisin🇧🇯🇨🇮 (@LeFouParolier) September 29, 2024

Signs of fear. Fear of a change that is not only long overdue, but also inevitable.
Identify these mercenaries and record their details. When the time comes, the Togolese will deal with them effectively.

It’s just a matter of time…

— ChicVoisin🇧🇯🇨🇮 (@LeFouParolier) September 29, 2024

Read our special coverage: Togo, a country with a dual identity

Another account called Palace added:

It is completely unacceptable because there is no tolerance. This free violence does not exist in one place in Togo! The Togolese authorities @PresidenceTg @FEGnassingbe Assume that you are responsible for the safety of people and people!

– Palace (@aremsbee) September 29, 2024

This intolerance is completely unacceptable. This senseless and cowardly violence has no place in Togo! The Togolese authorities @PresidenceTg @FEGnassingbe must take responsibility for people’s safety!

– Palace (@aremsbee) September 29, 2024

In an interview with Radio France Internationale, David Dosseh, spokesman for the civil society coalition Front Citoyen Togo Debout (Togolese Citizens Stand Up), who was present at the incident, said:

It is a feeling for the master who is estranged and a Senegalese brother can be exposed to violence. When I found out that there was an encore in Togo, the violence was exploited by oppressing the relatives of their return and expressing their loved ones.

The fact that a foreign politician, a Senegalese brother, should suffer such violence creates a sense of shame in Togo. This attack is another example of the powers that be using force to prevent people from gathering and being heard.

Furthermore, the ECOWAS Parliament also condemned the incident suffered by one of its members in Lomé on September 29:

The Parliament of the CEDEAO provides the opinion of the Togolese authorities on the interim measures to ensure the security of the MP and the other dispositions necessary in the circumstances

The ECOWAS Parliament wishes to assure the public that it is closely monitoring the measures taken by the Togolese authorities to ensure the safety of its members and the other necessary provisions in such circumstances.

Senegal itself is calling on the Togolese authorities to open an investigation into the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Several news sites in the West African sub-region have published articles on this unfortunate incident, which contradicts the fundamental principles of ECOWAS and its Parliament. RFI published the article “Anger and outrage after an attack on Guy Marius Sagna,” which summarizes various African media publications.