The recent detention of two French citizens in northern Togo has starkly illuminated concerning trends within Togolese governance. Charged earlier this week after several days in the custody of intelligence services, their fate appears to have been sealed by a direct directive from Faure Gnassingbé. He reportedly personally instructed his Minister of Justice, Pacôme Adjourouvi, to « yield to no pressure ».
Beyond its diplomatic ramifications, this incident underscores a more profound breakdown: a complete erosion of control over the nation’s governance. A fundamental question now looms over Togo: who genuinely leads, and by what legitimacy?
Upon closer examination, Faure Gnassingbé, in strict constitutional terms, no longer holds the office of President of the Togolese Republic. By orchestrating a new Constitution and appointing a symbolic « President of the Republic » to reserve the powerful role of President of the Council for himself, the government has established an unprecedented global precedent. This represents a genuine institutional contrivance where titles fade before the raw exercise of power.
This maneuver signifies a deeply troubling trajectory. Refusing to relinquish control of the state, the Togolese leader treats the nation’s foundational law like a deck of cards in a casino: rules shift according to convenience, reshuffled whenever the hand no longer suits. By issuing direct instructions to magistrates while shielding himself behind bespoke institutions, he confirms that the separation of powers has become nothing more than an artificial memory.
Togo is no longer merely contending with a disputed constitutional transition; it faces a personal exercise of power unconstrained by any republican logic. This creates a volatile situation where arbitrary rule has definitively superseded the rule of law.
An unprecedented institutional restructuring
The 2024 reform, approved by a National Assembly overwhelmingly dominated by the ruling party (UNIR), transformed the presidential system into a so-called « parliamentary » one. The President of the Republic (Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové) now performs only an honorary function. All real executive power including determining national policy, commanding the armed forces, making civil and military appointments, international representation, and regulatory authority has been transferred to the « President of the Council, » a position occupied by Faure Gnassingbé himself since May 3, 2025.
This position is not subject to any term limits. While the 1992 Constitution (as revised) restricted the president to two mandates, the new architecture permits unlimited tenure. The leader of the majority party automatically becomes President of the Council. With UNIR securing 108 out of 113 parliamentary seats following the 2024 legislative elections (largely boycotted by the opposition), the outcome was predetermined. This is no longer democratic alternation; it is dynastic perpetuation under a new designation.
Justice as a political instrument
The case involving two French journalists, Sébastien Perez Pezzani and Gaël Mocaër, arrested while filming for a France Télévisions program, is not an isolated incident. It aligns with a pattern of actions where intelligence services and the Ministry of Justice operate under direct instructions. The alleged order to « yield to no pressure » reveals a chain of command that entirely bypasses judicial independence. When the head of the executive dictates conduct to magistrates, the separation of powers ceases to exist.
This practice is not new. It has been observed in the handling of protests in June 2025, in prosecutions against critical voices, and in the treatment of sensitive cases. The law has become a tool for political management, mobilized or neutralized as dictated by immediate needs.
Legitimacy in question
Who genuinely governs? The answer is clear: a man who inherited power in 2005, consolidated it for two decades, and then reshaped institutions to retain it beyond any previous constitutional limits. The Togolese people were not consulted via referendum on this fundamental alteration. The legislative elections transpired in a climate of contention and boycott. The Senate, one-third of whose members are appointed by the President of the Council, further solidifies this control.
This is no longer a transition. It is a re-establishment of personal power cloaked in an institutional veneer. Titles may change, and formalities may accumulate, but the decision-making center remains constant: Faure Gnassingbé, now President of the Council, head of the majority, commander of the armed forces, and ultimate arbiter.
A volatile situation
When arbitrary rule supplants legal principles, when institutions become hollow shells, and when justice bows to political directives, the social contract inevitably weakens. Togo is no longer confronting a mere constitutional debate. It faces a regime that has chosen to govern outside any stable and predictable republican framework.
The question is no longer simply « who governs? » It has evolved into: how long can this system endure before its internal contradictions and popular pressure provoke a fundamental shift?
