Togo: detained activist marguerite gnakadé’s hunger strike sparks outrage

For over a year, Togo has witnessed a wave of repression against dissenting voices, with dozens of political prisoners paying the price. Among them is Essozimna Marguerite Gnakadé, the country’s first female defense minister, who has spent nearly a year behind bars. Since July 27, 2026, she has refused all food in protest of the harsh conditions she and other detained activists endure.

Her hunger strike is not an act of despair but a deliberate choice to amplify the plight of over sixty political prisoners still languishing in Togolese jails. Eleven months ago, Marguerite Gnakadé was arrested after publicly questioning the leadership of President Faure Gnassingbé—a decision that marked her shift from a former minister to a symbol of resistance.

From power to imprisonment: a fall from grace

Once a key figure in Togo’s government, Marguerite Gnakadé was appointed defense minister in October 2020 despite lacking a military background. Her ties to the ruling family—she was the late Ernest Gnassingbé, brother of the president—did little to shield her when she chose to join the 2025 protests against rising living costs and constitutional changes that effectively consolidated power in the hands of the executive.

Her arrest on September 17, 2025, followed her participation in a demonstration in Lomé, where she openly criticized the president’s governance. Since then, she has been held in detention, her health deteriorating as authorities turn a deaf ear to pleas for humane treatment.

Hunger strikes: the last resort of a silenced opposition

Marguerite Gnakadé is not alone in her protest. Since late 2025, hunger strikes have become a recurring tactic among imprisoned activists seeking to draw attention to their conditions. In November 2025, thirty-seven detainees initiated a collective fast, while in December, activists Grâce Koumayi and Abdoul Aziz Goma maintained a fifty-day hunger strike at the Lomé civil prison, forcing authorities to respond. Human rights organizations now demand urgent medical care for all striking detainees, including Gnakadé, whose condition remains precarious.

« This is not a strike of desperation, but of conviction. When justice fails, our bodies become our only voice, » the detained protesters declared in a joint statement.

Diverging fates: the blurred line between political prisoners and former regime figures

Marguerite Gnakadé shares a complicated history with other high-profile detainees like Kpatcha Gnassingbé and General Félix Kadanga. However, her case stands apart as the only one directly tied to political dissent.

Kpatcha Gnassingbé, half-brother of the president and former defense minister, was released in December 2025 after sixteen years in prison for an alleged coup attempt. General Kadanga, once Togo’s army chief of staff, continues to serve a twenty-year sentence for his alleged role in a colonel’s murder. Gnakadé, in contrast, remains incarcerated solely for criticizing the government’s policies.

Constitutional reform and the erosion of democratic freedoms

The crisis in Togo escalated after the adoption of a new Constitution in March 2024, which transformed the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system while eliminating term limits for the head of government. Critics condemned the move as a constitutional coup, fueling the 2025 youth-led protests led by the « Gen Z » movement. The government’s crackdown resulted in mass arrests, swelling the ranks of political prisoners.

While a presidential pardon in December 2025 freed 1,511 detainees, civil society groups estimate that at least seventy political prisoners remain behind bars. Reports indicate that at least nine detainees have died in custody since the repression began, with many others suffering severe injuries from mistreatment.

Civil society mobilizes for justice

The call for the release of political prisoners continues to grow, led by the « Touche pas à ma Constitution » collective and opposition parties. Activists demand not only the immediate release of all detained for their beliefs but also urgent medical attention for those on hunger strike. The fate of Marguerite Gnakadé, now eleven months into her detention, hangs in the balance as her health deteriorates.