Togo president's jailed half-brother sent to Gabon for medical reasons

A half-brother of Togo's president Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in detention over a failed 2009 coup, has been evacuated to Gabon for medical reasons, one of his lawyers said on Wednesday.

Officials in Togo and Gabon have not confirmed or commented on the details about 52-year-old Kpatcha Gnassingbe, but the story has been widely reported in recent days in private Togolese media.

Considered the ringleader behind the failed coup, Kpatcha Gnassingbe, a former minister of defence, was sentenced in September 2011 to 20 years in prison for "conspiracy against the state."

He was arrested in April 2009 in front of the US embassy in Togo's capital Lome, where he had been trying to gain refuge.

"I can confirm to you that Kpatcha Gnassingbe has been evacuated to Gabon for health reasons since March 23. I am in contact with his relatives. He is currently in a hospital where he is being treated," Zeus Ajavon, one of his lawyers told AFP.

"We have asked for his evacuation several times, because of the deteriorating state of his health. We appreciate this gesture," he said.

Kpatcha Gnassingbe had been hospitalised in the military wing of the Sylvanus-Olympio University Hospital Center (CHU) in Lome since June 2021.

According to the lawyer, Gnassingbe suffers from diabetes and is still considered a prisoner as he has not benefited from parole or a presidential pardon.

He filed requests for a pardon in 2011 and 2013 but received no reply, Ajavon said.

A total of 33 soldiers and civilians involved in the foiled 2009 coup were tried by the Supreme Court and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 months to 20 years.

All had pleaded their innocence. Kpatcha Gnassingbe and two officers are still being held in this case, while the others have been released.

"We would like the two officers who are still in detention in this case to also benefit from a medical evacuation, because they are also sick," Ajavon said.

Togo has been ruled since 2005 by Faure Gnassingbe, who came to power after the death of his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who himself had ruled Togo for 38 years. He was re-elected in elections that were all contested by the opposition.