Focus on Africa Deaths after anti-government protests in Togo
Jun 30, 2025
Dani Komla Aida, a political analyst and member of the Togolese Civil Society in the diaspora, teams up with Philip Rengens, a law and politics professor at the University of Antwerp, to discuss the recent deadly anti-government protests in Togo. They dissect the unsettling realities of political repression, highlighting the impact of social media amidst government crackdowns. The conversation also draws parallels with Rwanda's political landscape, shedding light on the complexities of dissent and the fight for civil liberties in the region.
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Rwanda's De Facto One-Party State
- Victoire Ngabire and similar opposition figures are excluded and repressed in Rwanda despite nominal multiparty elections.
- Opposition parties mostly support Kagame, creating a de facto one-party state.
Ngabire's Return and Arrest
- Victoire Ngabire lived abroad in the Netherlands during the 1994 genocide and returned in 2010 to run for president.
- She was arrested before campaigning and later sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Political Motives Behind Arrest
- Ngabire's arrest just before completing her sentence suggests political motives to suppress her possible renewed influence.
- Her conditional release had restricted freedoms, which the government retracted by re-arresting her.
