Everybody is talking about Africa, these days. Often not because they really care about Africa, but because it’s good business to talk about Africa. Does Bob Geldoff care about Africa? I think the number of African artists allowed to share the limelight with Madonna and Pink Floyd answers that question (none). How can you pretend […]

As the Abuja meeting between the RPT and the opposition concluded, not surprisingly without any tangible results, news broke yesterday that the opposition candidate of the last “election” in Togo had fallen ill: Emmanuel Akitani Bob was flown on Thursday to a hospital outside Paris, where he is being treated for neurological problems, doctors say. […]

Over at Au Village, my friend Agbessi has posted some of his horrific experiences as a student in Togo, at the Universié du Benin in Lomé. I saw the tension between the students and the “security” forces myself when I was in Togo. Akila is trying to get used to his glasses … Maggie went […]

After the so-called elections in Togo on April 24, the opposition decried the fraud, the stuffed ballot boxes, the disappeared ballot boxes, the stolen computers, the armed raids of opposition offices, and the general intimidation of the electorate. Shortly after the election, the opposition website diastode.org published a confidential document in which European Commission delegates […]

A few reports have emerged that paint a dire picture of the escalating violence in south-west Togo. Particularly the mountainous area known as the Plateaux, roughly between Kpalimé, 80 miles/120KM north of Lomé, to Atakpamé, 110 miles/170KM north of Lomé. Thomas Hofnung at the French Libération spoke by phone with a reporter in the regional […]

[NOTE: this was originally posted on Global Voices Online, a project at the Berkman Center at Harvard. Check out their daily roundups of blogs across the globe. Global Voices is a fantastic resource, if you’re interested in world wide blogging.] By Jurgen and Agbessi . It’s official: Faure Gnassingbe has inherited the family business from […]

Hardly surprising: Togo’s constitutional court, anointed by the the ruling RPT, announced that the the RPT’s “candidate” Faure Gnassingbe will be Togo’s new ruler: The opposition, desperate for change after 38 years of rule by Gnassingbe’s father, refused to concede defeat on Tuesday. “The results are unacceptable, we are going to mobilise the population because […]

The military is brutally terrorizing the civilian population in Togo and thousands are fleeing to Benin and Ghana. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that more than 9,000 refugees had been registered in Benin and around 7,500 in Ghana. Many of the most recent arrivals were from Be, said Rafik Saidi, the agency’s regional representative. […]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a troublemaker, but torching a Goethe Institute goes too far: A German cultural centre has been gutted in an arson attack in the Togo capital, Lome, in the latest outbreak of violence after disputed elections. The early morning attack by masked men wearing black comes after Togo’s interior minister accused […]

This AP photo illustrates the RPT-style democracy in Togo of the last 38 years. Agbessi, over at Au Village has a first hand account of what it was like to be at the receiving end of the soldier’s boots. What this picture does not show clearly is that the two men are most likely from […]

Looks like the opposition in Togo has decided to seek a showdown with the ruling RPT. The unity candidate Bob Akitani announced that, in fact, he won Sunday’s election. Based on information from opposition observers at the polling stations, the opposition claims that it won all districts, except Kara, the home and stronghold of Eyadema’s […]

Reuters spoke to Olympio: “Lome is burning,” main opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio told Reuters by telephone from Ghana, where he lives in exile. “But the only solution is to come to a political settlement … otherwise we are going right into the abyss.” Reuters – Apr 26, 2005 Shortly after the RPT announced its victory, […]

The ruling RPT announces what it calls “provisional election results” declaring victory for its candidate, Faure Gnassingbé, a son of Gnassingbé Eyadema, who ran Togo for 38 years. The candidate of Togo’s ruling RPT party and son of the former leader has provisionally won Sunday’s presidential election, an election official says. Faure Gnassingbe got 60% […]

A bit late, but hopefully not too late: Leaders of Togo’s two main parties have agreed to form a government of national unity following presidential elections marred by violence and claims of fraud. BBC NEWS – Togo leaders ‘to form coalition’ Presuming that Faure Gnassingbé will assume power, based on yesterday’s tainted election, he will […]

This looks like a last-ditch effort of the African Union to pull Togo away from the abyss of civil war: The Nigerian president and AU president Olusegun Obasanjo met individually with Faure Gnasignbé and Togolese opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio in Abuja today, reports republicoftogo.com (offical Togolese government site). [UPDATE: the BBC also mentions the meetings […]

Not good: Armed men have raided the headquarters of Togo’s opposition, shortly before presidential election polls closed. The attackers, some in military uniform, took computers which the opposition was planning to use to collate results from the day’s polling. Raid overshadows Togo elections, BBC, 24 April, 2005 I guess the RPT is worried about the […]

Voters in Togo are flocking to the polling stations today for a stark choice under difficult conditions. The unity candidate for the opposition, Bob Akitani, is facing off against the frontman of the ruling RPT, Faure Gnassingbé, the son of the late strongman of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema. After weeks of turmoil and violent clashes between […]

Togo closed its borders Friday in preparation for the elections on Sunday. Hours before, the Interior minister François Esso Boko called for a postponement of the “suicidal electoral process” during a 2 AM meeting with foreign diplomats and the press. While the RPT is deriding Boko as having gone crazy, the opposition has put on […]

Togo’s Interior Minister, Esso Boko, last night called for a suspension of the “suicidal electoral process” of his country – and was promptly sacked by his boss, Interim President Abass Bonfoh. The BBC’s Elizabeth Blunt in Togo says Mr Boko is a former military man and a political heavyweight, whose ministry is responsible for conducting […]

Carrying on his fathers legacy of intimidation and violence, Faure Gnassingbe arrived in Lomé Sunday after his RPT thugs had “prepared” the capital of Togo using tear gas, nail-studded clubs and guns the day before. IRIN reported six deaths and AFP reported seven deaths and 150 injured. Saturday’s clashes occurred as opposition supporters spilled into […]