Togo accelerates the establishment of military justice, a first in the country

Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé appointed the judges of the new military tribunal at the end of February 2023. Yanick Folly / AFP

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After the creation of a military tribunal and a military court of appeal in December 2022, President Faure Gnassingbé appointed the judges, civilians, on February 27.

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The military tribunal and the military appeal court will be chaired respectively by the vice-president and the president of the Lomé court of appeal, Awal Ibrahim and Amégboh Kokou Wottor.

Military justice becomes operational in Togo and some sources do not hesitate to make the link with the worsening of the

in the Savanes region, but also with the arrest, in January, of the former head of state -Major Félix Kadangha, suspected of being involved in the

, in the office of his barracks.

It was May 4, 2020, the day after Faure Gnassingbé's presidential inauguration.

Fear on the use of this new jurisdiction

Since then, many have been demanding justice, particularly in the prefecture of Doufelgou, in northern Togo, where Madjoulba was from.

The Togolese government made arrests and reshuffled much of the military hierarchy.

But nearly two years after the events, the circumstances of this crime remain obscure. 

The fear expressed by some opposition and civil society actors is that this military tribunal will be used to try this case behind closed doors and that the truth will never be known.

They also wonder about the jurisdiction of this new jurisdiction for acts prior to its creation and about the future use of this military tribunal.

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