News

Togo issues arrest warrant for ex-prime minister Agbéyomé Kodjo

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:38 pm

A Togolese court has issued an international arrest warrant for opposition figure Agbéyomé Kodjo, who came second in the February presidential election won by president Faure Gnassingbé, and who now lives in “hiding in Togo”, according to one of his lawyers on Thursday.

“An international arrest warrant has been issued against Kodjo Agbéyomé. We learned it yesterday from the investigating judge,” his main lawyer, Darius Kokou Atsoo, said on a private radio station.

“This is yet another act of persecution against Mr. Kodjo, which in no way weakens our determination to bring the legal truth to light in this case,” he stressed.

The former prime minister from 2000-2002, Kodjo had refused to appear in court on 10 July, saying in a statement posted on social networks that he “feared for his life”.

Togo’s public prosecutor, Essolissam Poyodi, confirmed to KnowAfrika that an “international arrest warrant” had been issued for the opposition figure since that date.

He has not been found since then, but in a message sent to KnowAfrika he said he had remained in Togo “in hiding” because his life “is in danger”.

He has been placed under judicial supervision since 24 April, after spending four days in the national gendarmerie, and the senior investigating judge had forbidden him to leave Togo without permission.

Mr. Kodjo, a candidate of the Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development (MPDD), obtained 19.46% of the vote on 22 February, compared with 70.78% for Faure Gnassingbé, according to official results, which he contests.

His parliamentary immunity was lifted in March, at the request of the Lomé public prosecutor’s office, for having “self-proclaimed” himself President of the Republic.

He also presented himself as the “alleged Head of State and Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces”, calling on the nation and the armed forces to mobilise against the government, for words and actions that “are qualified as aggravated disturbances of public order (…) and as undermining the internal security of the State”, according to the prosecutor.

At the end of June, the MPDD also called for the release of 16 of its activists who had been in prison since 21 April and were sentenced to four months in prison for “flagrante delicto, rebellion and complicity in rebellion”.

Mr. Gnassingbé came to power in 2005 after the death of his father, General Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who had himself ruled Togo with an iron fist for 38 years.

(AFP)

Albert Echetah

Recent Posts

Africa and GCC Trade Doubles to $121 Billion

Trade between African and GCC countries stands at $ 121 billion in 2023, double of what it was in 2016.…

December 21, 2024

Families in Mayotte rebuilding their homes complain of lack of help

Family members struggling after one week after  of Cyclone Chido ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte expressed helplessness…

December 21, 2024

Ethiopian PM Inaugurates UAE-Funded Orphanage in Oromia

The United Arab Emirates has launched its orphanage project in Ethiopia's Oromia region on the orders of President Sheikh Mohamed…

December 21, 2024

A Rising Femicide Threat, Kenya’s Call to End Gender Based Violence

In just four months, 100 women have been killed, the majority by males they knew including spouses. Prime Cabinet Secretary…

December 20, 2024

Actor C Confion has passed away

The Ghanaian entertainment industry is in deep mourning following the sudden death of Bright Owusu, better known as C Confion.…

December 20, 2024

South Africa: 512 Accident Deaths and 941 Arrested for Drunk Driving Just on December Month

Since the beginning of December more than five hundred people have lost their lives on the nation's highways. Barbara Creecy,…

December 19, 2024

This website uses cookies.