Togo: NGOs hope Kpatcha Gnassingbé evacuation will bring political changes

Kpatcha Gnassingbé, half-brother of the Togolese president, at a ceremony in Lomé on January 13, 2006 when he was Togo's defense minister. © Erick Christian Ahounou / AFP

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While Kpatcha Gnassingbé, the half-brother of the Togolese head of state, was evacuated from the country for health reasons, after 13 years of detention for endangering state security, observers wonder about the consequences. Beyond the humanitarian and family gesture, some wonder if the act could have a political extension and lead Lomé towards more democracy.

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Kpatcha Gnassingbé's health had deteriorated so much that his medical evacuation abroad was necessary, according to Amnesty International Togo. Human rights organizations hope that this gesture of the head of state towards his half-brother, imprisoned for 13 years, will be an opportunity to put an end to detentions that had been deemed arbitrary by the UN and ECOWAS.

Aimé Adi, Amnesty International's director in Togo, hopes that this evacuation will be followed by measures to end arbitrary detentions and improve detention conditions in Togo, as "it is important to put in place a mechanism to take into account sick detainees in Togo".

For Aimé Adi, Amnesty International's director in Togo, the evacuation of Kpatcha Gnassingbé "shows the dimension of human rights" and "the humanitarian dimension of places of detention"

Claire Fages

The most optimistic observers believe that this family event could be a historic opportunity for the Togolese authorities to direct their political practices towards more democracy, to preserve the unity of the country.

In the eyes of lawyer Doudou Diène, who investigated the 2005 violence in Togo for the UN, this humanitarian and family event must have a political extension, towards more "political pluralism" in the country.

Jurist Doudou Diène hopes that this is "the beginning of a transformation in the direction of political pluralism" in Togo

Claire Fages

For other experts, this medical evacuation resembles the exile of a rival, accused of a conspiracy he has always denied. This while the trial of several army officials who know the underside of the relations between the Gnassingbé brothers is looming.

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Read on on the same topics:

• Togo
• Faure Gnassingbé
• Human rights