Among all the theories often evoked in national or international opinion to try to explain the detention of Kpatcha Gnassingbé in prison, there is one irrefutable constant: it is that he tried to destabilize the power of his half-brother Faure Gnassingbé, current Togolese Head of State. This makes him a danger to the latter, hence the need to remove him from the Togolese borders.
In 2009, the Togolese justice recognized Kpatcha Gnassingbé guilty of the acts of attack on the security of the State by condemning him to 20 years of prison. During his incarceration, his counsel and several human rights organizations had called for his medical evacuation due to a seriously infected foot. This request has never received the consent of the Togolese judicial authorities.
In reality, this breach of State security makes the former Minister of Defense a permanent danger for the Togolese regime. Obviously, the 20-year sentence imposed on Faure Gnassingbé’s half-brother is coming to an end in 2029, which is about 6 years from now. Kpatcha Gnassingbé has never been able to benefit from either conditional release or medical evacuation often requested by his counsel or human rights organisations.
Consequently, the unexpected departure of prisoner Kpatcha Gnassingbé for Gabon on Thursday March 23, 2023, just a few years from the expiry of his prison sentence without official reason, can only be analyzed as a subterfuge to dismiss definitively this threat to the power of Faure Gnassingbé.
It is much more strategic for the regime in place to anticipate this case than to wait until 2029 when officially Kpatcha Gnassingbé would be free to move on Togolese territory. Presumably, the detainee Kpatcha Gnassingbé left to join the long list of undesirables of the power of the current Head of State.
With Icilome
