The opposition in Togo held its first meeting in the capital on Saturday in Lomé after more than two years of prohibition.
All opposition demonstrations had been banned since March 2020, after the discovery of the first case of Covid-19 in the country.
Activists of the Dynamique Monseigneur Kpodzro (DMK) - which brings together seven opposition political parties and six civil society organizations - gathered in a small public square in Bè Kodjindji, one of the traditional strongholds of the opposition .
A few gendarmes were positioned in nearby alleys.
No incidents were reported.
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The DMK had already organized a first meeting at the end of November in Vogan, a locality located about 67km north of Lomé.
“
I have the feeling that we have just taken yet another step in our struggle to liberate the country.
We have demonstrated that it is now possible to organize meetings in Lomé and everywhere in Togo
”, declared Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson, coordinator of the DMK.
"
Political life must resume, the Togolese must mobilize to save this country, which is in very poor condition, 60 years after independence
," she criticized.
In turn, the leaders of this group have severely criticized the management of the power in place.
They also denounced the "
silence
" of the authorities on the security situation in the far north of the country.
"
The government no longer says anything about the terrorist attacks in the north of the country (...) We are all Togolese and must know what is happening with our soldiers
", hammered Gérard Adja, one of the leaders of the DMK.
Since November 2021, Togo has suffered at least five attacks, including two deadly ones in the far north of the country, plagued by incursions by jihadist fighters present on the other side of its border.
In December, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe replaced the Minister of Defense and radically reshuffled the military high command.