Togo

The Gnassingbé regime in Togo limits security sector accountability. The security sector is deeply linked to the regime after more than fifty years under the rule of one family.

While trust in Army and police rose from 42 percent in 2017 to 55 percent in 2022, trust in the president decreased from 53 percent in 2014 to 48 percent in 2022, according to Afrobarometer surveys. Trust in parliament remained relatively stable at around 40 percent. Asked about corruption in 2022, fewer than 10 percent said the president and the national assembly were not corrupt and fewer than five percent said the police were honest. Moreover, 40 percent said corruption had increased during the previous year and 84 percent said they risked retaliation for reporting corruption. Togo ranks 130th out of 180 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception.

In May 2020, newly promoted Brigadier General Tassounti Djato became chief of the general staff, replacing Felix Kadangha, who was suspected of being involved in the murder of Lt. Col. Bitala Madjoulba. In December 2022, the president fired the minister of defense and announced the role would revert to the office of the president. The president created a military tribunal and a military appeals court and named civilians to serve as top judges in both courts in February 2023. While the creation of such courts had long been called for by members of the opposition, it remained unclear on what cases the courts would have jurisdiction, and whether this would include cases that preceded its creation.

Press freedom has dropped 23 points since 2016 in VDEM’s Press Freedom indicator. Media advocates have expressed concern about a law that imposes penalties on journalists that commit “serious errors.” Security forces sometimes detain reporters without charge, delete data from their cameras and other devices, and threaten them for covering citizen protests. The regime has also reportedly bribed journalists to provide positive coverage. Journalists and media outlets face harassment, arbitrary suspensions, detention, and arrest. Journalists are periodically accused of libel, offense to the state, and defamation of officials for reporting on government authorities. Journalists report that they have been barred from working in the northern areas under a state of emergency due to the threat of violent extremism.

Leaders of the political opposition face similar forms of harassment. Authorities briefly detained Agbéyomé Kodjo for claiming the 2020 elections result were fraudulent. He was released only to face the issuance of an international arrest warrant when he persisted in his claims of fraud. In November 2020, two leading opposition members, Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson and Gerard Djossou were arrested for several weeks on charges of undermining the internal security of the state. Opposition groups claimed around 100 of their members were detained as political prisoners during the electoral period.

Although a Médiateur de la république (Ombudsperson) conducts investigations, the government rarely takes steps to investigate or prosecute instances of alleged human rights abuses or corruption on the part of the security forces or of government officials. Togo has a Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Trial Courts for civil and criminal cases, and several specialized courts including a court of public accounts or Cour des Comptes, and the Court of State Security. Judiciary infrastructure is well established across the country, including in rural areas but case backlogs, ignorance of the law, and the high cost of litigation undermine access to justice.