Senegalese MP Guy Marius Sagna has been in Lomé, Togo, to attend the 3rd ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament. Invited by Togolese MP Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson for a meeting with Togolese citizens, the event, initially scheduled for Sunday, was reportedly blocked by local authorities. The Dynamique pour la Majorité du Peuple (DMP) party condemned what it called “attempts to violate the rights of two elected representatives.“
According to a press release from DMP, Honorable Sagna intended to engage with Togolese citizens, who are also part of his constituency as an ECOWAS MP, to better understand their concerns. The meeting was planned for the Saint Augustin Parish Hall in Amoutivé on September 29. However, the parish office informed Adjamagbo-Johnson’s team that the hall was no longer available despite prior reservation and payment, and offered a refund, allegedly due to government pressure.
In response, the venue was changed to the headquarters of the CDPA, and the new location was communicated on the same day. However, on September 27, added the press release, Sagna was summoned by the ECOWAS Parliament office and informed that the Togolese Minister of Territorial Administration had notified them that Sagna would be attending a public meeting prohibited under Togolese regulations.
The DMP highlighted that MP Adjamagbo-Johnson, who has the legal right to meet her constituents without prior authorization, had previously held public meetings in August without any government intervention. The minister did not issue any formal prohibition regarding the planned meeting.
The DMP accused the government of attempting to obstruct this much-anticipated event without valid legal grounds and called on the national, regional, and international community to witness the actions infringing on the rights of the two MPs.
Guy Marius Sagna is known for his pro-democracy stance in the region and has frequently highlighted Togo’s political situation in the ECOWAS Parliament, particularly following the constitutional change in May that abolished presidential elections.