Togo has requested " the expertise " of French justice in the investigation opened in May on the mysterious death of a high-ranking army officer, the day after the inauguration of President Faure Gnassingbé, said the AFP, this Monday July 13, the Minister of Security.
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Lieutenant-Colonel Bitala Madjoulba, commander of the 1st Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), was found dead in his office on the morning of May 4. " Togo has requested, as part of international criminal assistance, expert reports to French justice, " said the Minister, General Yark Damehame.
" The commission of inquiry sent to France, bullets from comparison shots and their cases, " said the minister, who heads the commission of inquiry set up by the authorities on this file. A bullet was extracted from the body of the victim during the autopsy, said in May the public prosecutor, Essolissam Poyodi.
No official reaction to the death has been published to date. The deceased's successor, Lieutenant-Colonel Tchangani Atafaï, took office shortly after. Residents of Siou, the victim's native village more than 500 km north of Lomé, demonstrated on several occasions to demand " all the light " on his death.
Opposition calls for "independent" investigation
Appointed head of the 1st BIR in 2014, Lieutenant-Colonel Madjoulba had attended the Cameroon War School, the National School of Officers of Senegal and led several UN contingents. Local media reported on the possibility of a " settling of accounts " within the army and several opposition leaders denounced the authorities' silence, demanding an " independent " and " impartial " investigation .
The day before his death, Faure Gnassingbé was invested for a fourth five-year term at the head of this West African country which he has directed since 2005, following the death of his father, General Eyadéma. He was re-elected on February 22 with more than 70% of the vote according to the official results, contested by the opposition.
