Togo: Gnassingbe dynasty faces youth-led protests

The "Hands Off My Constitution" coalition of civic groups and opposition leaders in Togo have called for further protests in the coming days to oppose what they have referred to as a "constitutional coup."

Since the introduction of a new political structure in June, President Faure Gnassingbe could now remain at the helm of the country without any term limits.

According to Ulf Laessing of the  Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), as well as an increasingly disenchanted opposition, many Togolese are concerned about a recent surge in prices.

"The hike in electricity prices was kind of the trigger of these protests, which broadly target the presidential family, Gnassingbe, which has been in power for 60 years," Laessing told DW, whose employer, the KAS, is a major political German foundation focused on promoting liberal democracy.

"There have been protests before, but this [one] looks relatively large. But it's impossible to say where it's going," he adds.

Faure Gnassingbe has pledged to strengthen democracy but his actions seem to confirm the oppositeImage: Sunday Alamba/AP Photo/picture alliance

Heavy-handed police response to wave of protests

A clampdown on dissent saw over 80 people arrested earlier in June during the first round of days-long rallies. Police reportedly used tear gas against crowds.

Activists also reported dozens of people had said they had been mistreated by security forces. 

"Several people were beaten during their arrest," Aime Adi, director of Amnesty International's office in Togo, told The Associated Press (AP) in mid-June.

Press freedom is also under attack: Earlier in June, French international broadcasters RFI and France 24 were suspended for three months for an alleged lack of impartiality in their coverage of the protests.

A journalist from French public broadcaster TV5 was even held without charge at a police station for several hours, during which time authorities reportedly deleted footage she had filmed at a rally.

West Africa's unending dynasty

One of the smaller states in Africa, Togo has been a republic for 65 years after gaining independence from France in 1960.

The country's founding years were marked by successive coup d'etats, ultimately resulting in Eyadema Gnassingbe taking over in 1967 and hanging onto power until his death in 2005. Single-party rule and a personality cult for the leader marked that era.

Eyadema Gnassingbe led Togo with an iron fist from 1967 until his death in 2005Image: Gorassini Giancarlo/ABACA/picture alliance

His son Faure succeeded him to the presidency — with staunch support of the military and repeated claims of election rigging.

"Presidential elections slated for this year were canceled last year in favor of constitutional change to allow Gnassingbe to stay in power indefinitely," said Laessing, adding that while the leader had created an image of demoting himself to "essentially a prime minister," he had consolidated more power in his new role, the President of the Council of Ministers.

Two of Togo's opposition parties, the National Alliance for Change (ANC), Democratic Forces for the Republic (FDR), have publicly demanded Gnassingbe step down, saying he "must return power to the Togolese people to whom national sovereignty belongs."

"[T]he Togolese now want the end of this regime which can no longer offer anything to the people after 20 years of absolute and repressive power of Faure Gnassingbe," a representative of "Hands Off My Constitution" meanwhile told AFP.

Protests in 2005 (seen here) against the handover of power from Eyadema to Faure Gnassingbe resulted in dozens of casualtiesImage: Quidu Noel/IMAGO

Young people fed up with status quo

Over the years, protests over the dynastic rule of the Gnassingbes have resulted in the deaths of several hundred Togolese and the displacement of thousands in the past - most notably after the 2005 elections, and following anti-government protests held in 2017.

As recent as 2024, two people were killed during protests held against the long-term ruler.

Now, in 2025, people are protesting on the streets of the capital Lome and beyond, following the final switchover to the parliamentary system last month. This time, however, they are led by the country's youth.

"Togo is a very young country. Most people are under 30," Laessing explains, adding that the protests were largely coordinated "on Facebook and social media, with young people then taking to the streets. But it doesn't seem to be very organized."

Signs of more dissent to follow

Earlier in June, initial demonstrations were instigated by local rapper Aamron — whose real name is Essowe Tchalla.

He was arrested last month just hours after urging Togolese citizens to protest in a TikTok video.

Aamron has since withdrawn the comments and has offered an apology to Gnassingbe. But Aamron has inadvertently become the face of these youth demonstrations, even though protests have been banned in Togo for the past three years following a deadly attack at Lome's main market.

"The Togolese are aware that there will always be repression, but they have reached a point where they can no longer stop themselves from expressing their frustrations," political scientist Madji Djabakete told DW, adding that in his view, the protests to date were merely a "test" for a more structured uprising to come.

Democracy under threat regionally 

The recent change in government systems also has many outside observers worried. Four West African nations have undergone military coups in recent years, with one of them being Burkina Faso, Togo's northern neighbor. 

Some fear this acceptance of strongmen tactics will embolden more conservative groups in Togo to double-down on their support for Gnassingbe in defiance of the youth-led protests.

"Military governments are quite popular with the population [in West Africa] because elections tend to produce governments that are seen as corrupt and incompetent," Laessing highlights.

"That seems to be also the case with Togo, and I think that's the reason why this presidential family has been in power for so long. Many people also back the government because they're concerned about security," he adds, point to a surge in jihadist insurgent activity in northern Togo spilling over from neighboring Burkina Faso.

Foreign observers believe that elections in Togo have been rigged for the past 20 yearsImage: Emile Kouton/AFP

The Togolese government under the Gnassingbe dynasty still enjoys notable support among the country's traditional chiefs. Many have affirmed their commitment to ensuring social cohesion and respect for the government by quelling dissent.

"We are well prepared to prevent any protest," said Togbui Lankivi, chief of Adakpame.

"If a demonstration is authorized, as is written in the law, we provide security. But we won't accept demonstrations here in Adakpame," Lankivi said, adding that anyone participating in the protests would be banished from the area.

Though local leaders like Lankivi have said they would not use violence to stop protests, many fear parts of the country could descend into chaos, as young protestors face off against older generations with more traditional values.

Togo flirting with Alliance of Sahel States

A recent survey in Togo by the independent, pan-African research network Afrobarometer found that just over half of Togolese believed their country would benefit from leaving the regional bloc ECOWAS, one of the stronger democratic institutions in the region, and joining the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which was put together in 2023 by the junta leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

"There has been speculation that Togo might join [the AES]. I'm not sure that's true because it's clear Togo has a special role: They have been mediating between the AES and ECOWAS, of which Togo is still a member," Laessing told DW, stressing that Gnassingbe might want to use the country's unique position between the two blocs as leverage in the future.

As the rallies remain slated to go ahead, Togo's public services minister announced that the protests were deemed to be illegal, as the groups supporting the "Hands Off My Constitution" coalition had not provided a formal notification to the relevant authorities.

Noel Tadegnon and Mireille Dronne contributed to this article

Edited by: Cai Nebe