Senegalese MP Guy Marius Sagna is currently in Lomé, Togo, participating in activities organized by the ECOWAS Parliament. He was scheduled to attend a public meeting with the opposition platform, Dynamique pour la Majorité du Peuple (DMP), on Sunday afternoon. However, the event was interrupted and did not conclude as planned.
The opposition initially intended to hold the meeting at a parish hall, but it was abruptly canceled, reportedly due to pressure from authorities. The gathering was then relocated to the headquarters of the African People’s Democratic Convention (CDPA). MP Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson opened the meeting, but it was soon disrupted and cut short.
As Guy Marius Sagna began speaking, chaos erupted when chairs were thrown from the center of the room toward the head table. The situation quickly escalated, with protestors damaging property, stealing journalists’ phones, and throwing sound equipment and recorders into a well. Outside, attackers smashed car windows with concrete blocks.
Sagna was particularly targeted, suffering injuries to his head and arm. He was taken to a local clinic for treatment, where he recounted the attack, saying: “They asked me, ‘Are you Togolese?’ as if to challenge my support for the Togolese people. Today, I am more Togolese than ever, and I will continue to stand with the brave people of Togo until their leaders respect them.”
At least seven people were injured in the violence, including Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson and her driver, and a local journalist. The attackers, who did not conceal their identities, fled through the streets of the Bè district.
So far, the authorities of both countries have not yet reacted.