The Day They Came for My Family: A Personal Account of Political Repression in Togo

 "The Day They Came for My Family: A Personal Account of Political Repression in Togo"

(Published: March 2025)

On a quiet night in October 2021, my mother received a knock on the door in Lomé. It wasn’t a neighbor. It wasn’t a friend. It was two plainclothes officers from the security forces.

They had one message:
 “Tell your son to stop writing. Or he will never return.”

That was the day everything changed for me. My name is Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou, and I am not just an activist — I am a son who had to choose between silence and survival. I chose survival, but not silence.

Before that night, I had been publishing blogs, tweets, and articles denouncing the Gnassingbé regime. I had participated in digital campaigns and contributed to organizing diasporic solidarity events in Portugal and Turkey. I had never imagined the regime would retaliate through my family.

The threats continued. I received anonymous WhatsApp messages. Screenshots of my posts were shared with death emojis. Friends were warned to stop associating with me. But it was the visit to my family home that made it clear: I could never safely return to Togo.

What had I done? I spoke the truth:

  • That the parliament’s 2024 “reform” was a constitutional coup.

  • That Faure Gnassingbé has outlasted every democratic principle in the book.

  • That Togo’s youth deserve a future — not fear.

Since then, I’ve lived between uncertainty and resistance.

I stayed temporarily in Portugal, often moving between dormitories and couch-surfing with other exiled Africans. I worked online, freelancing when I could, refusing to be crushed by circumstance.

I hesitated to seek asylum. Not out of guilt, but fear. Fear that applying in Europe might expose my location.

Fear that the Togolese regime might reach even here. Fear that no one would believe me.

But recent events — and a Dutch friend’s insistence — gave me courage.

Courage to stand up not just for myself, but for the thousands of others who are silenced in the shadows.

This article is my testimony. If something happens to me, let this remain. Let this be read.

Let it stand as evidence of a regime that silences critics not just with censorship, but with terror.

I am no longer afraid. I am no longer hiding.

I am a voice for Togo.


Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou

Comments

  1. Watch dog2:07 PM

    You are as pathetic as your writing, you think you can be outside Togo ? The military knows your name. Be careful, blogger boy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Watch dog2:07 PM

    You want to bring revolution online? You will disappear like the others.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Watch dog2:18 PM

    Activists like you are enemies of peace. You’ll be treated like one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Watch dog2:19 PM

    Watch your mouth or we’ll shut it for good. Online nonsense won’t save you when we catch you

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Illusion of Reform: Why Togo's Political Changes Are Cosmetic, Not Democratic

Image
  The Illusion of Reform: Why Togo's Political Changes Are Cosmetic, Not Democratic (Published: June 2023) by Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou Every few years, the regime in Togo puts on a show — a new reform, a new election, a reshuffled cabinet. To the international community, this signals progress. But for those of us on the ground. For the real Togolese people — it is nothing more than political theater . I am Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou , a committed activist and member of the ANC, and I say this without hesitation: Togo is not reforming. It is repackaging tyranny. Let us examine the evidence: Electoral commissions are still appointed by those in power. Opposition voices are allowed only if they are quiet or compromised. The press is censored, journalists imprisoned, and internet cut during protests. Constitutional changes like the recent shift to a parliamentary system only consolidate Faure Gnassingbé’s rule. True reform empowers the people. Cosmetic reform protects the regime ....
Read more

Faure Gnassingbé: The Making of a Dynasty, Not a Democracy

Image
 (Published: June 2018) - By Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou Since 2005, Togo has lived under the shadow of a dynasty that masquerades as a democracy. Faure Gnassingbé, son of the late General Gnassingbé Eyadéma who ruled Togo for 38 years, inherited power in what many described as a military-backed constitutional coup. His presidency has since been marked by rigged elections, repression of dissent, and the slow erosion of Togolese civil liberties. As a Togolese citizen and activist, I — Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou — have watched with increasing alarm as our republic transformed into a personalized regime, with Faure sitting on the throne of the state as if it were a family heirloom. Democracy demands accountability. It demands that power be transferred through the will of the people. But in Togo, power is kept by manipulating the system. The 2010, 2015, and 2020 elections were all characterized by massive irregularities, with opposition candidates routinely harassed, and voter rolls ma...
Read more

Lettre ouverte au peuple togolais : pourquoi je suis candidat à la présidence de 2025

Image
Lettre ouverte au peuple togolais : pourquoi je suis candidat à la présidence de 2025 (Publié : mai 2025) Peuple togolais, Je vous écris non pas comme un homme qui a des ambitions personnelles, mais comme un fils de la nation qui ne peut plus rester spectateur. Je suis Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou , et aujourd’hui, je vous annonce ma candidature à l’élection présidentielle de notre pays. Ce choix n’est pas un calcul. C’est une conviction née de la douleur, de l’exil, de la colère, mais aussi de l’amour. Depuis trop longtemps, notre pays est confisqué par une dynastie qui étouffe nos rêves, écrase nos voix, déforme notre avenir. Depuis plus de 50 ans, les Gnassingbé se succèdent à la tête de l’État, sans jamais rendre de comptes. Moi, je n’ai ni parti riche, ni milice privée, ni fortune familiale. Mais j’ai quelque chose que Faure n’aura jamais : la légitimité de ceux qui ont souffert, résisté, aimé ce pays malgré tout. Ma candidature repose sur trois piliers : Réconciliation national...
Read more