Senegal condemned the assault on one of its Members of Parliament during an opposition meeting in Togo over the weekend and called for an investigation into the incident.
A video circulating on social media shows MP Guy Marius Sagna addressing the audience, saying, “there are people who did not want this meeting to take place,” before the event is suddenly disrupted amid chaos. Another video shows Sagna lying in a hospital bed with his left hand bandaged, and in a third clip, he recounts how he and other participants were beaten with chairs and fists. He also mentioned that a Togolese MP was among those assaulted.
Sagna accused the Togolese regime of paying thugs to attack and possibly even kill members of the opposition, including MPs and a member of the ECOWAS Parliament. He stressed that this attack demonstrated how “no Togolese is safe.” The “Front Touche Pas à Ma Constitution,” a coalition of Togolese opposition parties and civil society groups formed to protest Togo’s new constitution, released a statement saying several others were injured during the incident. The group accused individuals aligned with militias of attempting to silence Sagna, who had previously spoken out against the Togolese regime.
Sagna, who leads the “Front for a Popular and Pan-African Anti-Imperialist Revolution” in Senegal, is known for his outspoken critiques, particularly of French influence in Africa. He has been detained multiple times under Senegal’s former government and has been a vocal critic of the new constitution in Togo, which opposition groups claim allows President Faure Gnassingbé to remain in power indefinitely.
In response, the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday “strongly condemned this unacceptable act” and called for an immediate investigation. Minister Yacine Fall informed her Togolese counterpart and requested that Sagna’s physical safety be ensured. The statement also expressed appreciation for the Togolese minister’s commitment to protecting Sagna’s well-being.