President Faure Gnassingbé was sworn into office in Togo last week for his fourth consecutive term at a ceremony streamed on Facebook.
A Not So Democratic Move
On 8 May 2019, the National Assembly adopted a law limiting presidential terms to two five-year terms, but it did not take into account the incumbent’s previous terms in office, thus allowing Faure Gnassingbé to run for another term in office after his presidency expires in 2025. This new law also shields former presidents from arrest, detention and prosecution for actions taken while in office. Will the people of Togo allow this stand?
A Short Walk Through History
For the Gnassingbés, holding on to power is almost family tradition. It is quite a familiar story but one that cannot be left, untold. Faure Gnassingbé was installed by the military as president of Togo after the death of his father, military leader Gnassingbé Eyadema in 2005. Gnassingbé did not only step into his father’s shoes but has also assumed a “strongman” position, holding on to power since 2005. His father had been ruling for 38 years before his demise.
Strong Institutions Not Strongmen, Togo
Despite protests calling for the president to step down, he has remained unshaken. Togo has become a hotspot for human rights abuses, illegal detentions and the torture of dissenting voices. In April, former Prime Minister and opposition figure, Agbeyome Kodjo, was arrested alongside other members of his party.
The idea that change can only occur when strong men lead institutions has created a pipeline for authoritarianism in Africa and it continues to go unchecked. Togo currently sits as the most recent example of this.
In a 2009 speech addressing the members of parliament in Ghana, former US President Barack Obama rightly said thus: “No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not a democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end. Africa doesn’t need strongmen; it needs strong institutions.”
Power concentrated in the hands of individuals has proven to not only be problematic but also costly for democracies In Africa and the world.
