Two students aged 21 and 24 have been sentenced to six months of suspended prison time by the Lomé High Court for allegedly showing disrespect towards public authorities. They were found guilty of addressing President Faure Gnassingbé in a TikTok video to express their discontent over the constitutional amendments. Their lawyers and civil society argue that these young individuals were merely exercising their freedom of expression.
While the students, Koffi Waze and Abiou Fousseni, won’t serve jail time, their attorney, Mr. Elom Koffi Kpade, sees this verdict as “legal coercion.” He asserts that the youths’ statements cannot be construed as disrespectful. Consequently, neither of the convicted students’ legal representatives intends to appeal the ruling.
On March 31st, the two friends posted a TikTok video that garnered over 500,000 views. In the video, they directly address President Faure Gnassingbé: “We want to tell you that Togo is not solely your property, but belongs to all of us. You locked yourselves in with 91 deputies at half past midnight in an enclosure to decide what pleases you.” This was in reference to the late-night adoption of the new constitution on March 26.
The video message also laments the government’s economic governance and the unemployment rate among young graduates.
According to the NGO “Tournons la page” in Togo, the message from the two young individuals simply vocalizes what the majority of the people think. Its coordinator, David Dosseh, asserts that “this case illustrates the restriction of fundamental freedoms in the country.”
For their attorney, Mr. Elom Koffi Kpade, the youths may have been used as a “sample” to convey a message to the youth. He suggests that “if this were to be deemed disrespectful towards the head of state, then I believe all eight million Togolese citizens would find themselves in prison, because in reality, Togolese people say this every day.”
This case underscores the delicate balance between freedom of expression and governmental authority in Togo, sparking debates about the protection of civil liberties and the boundaries of dissent in the country.