Internet users in Togo have reported that Internet access has slowed down or been blocked by the government in a bid to affect the protests against president Faure Gnassingbé schedule to take place this week.
They are protesting against the fact that the Gnassingbé family has ruled the country for over 50 years and that it was time to hand over to someone else.
The present president has been in power since 2005 after the death of his father, Gnassingbé Eyadema, who was president for 38 years
According to one activist, Farida Nabourema in a tweet;
Whatsapp and Facebook are no longer going trough in #Togo. Internet speed has also decreased considerably ahead of tomorrow's protest.
— Farida Bemba Nabourema (@Farida_N) September 5, 2017
Internet is completely shut down in #Togo. Faure Gnassingbe bring back our internet.
People let's tweet by text. #Togoviwofon #TogoDebout— Farida Bemba Nabourema (@Farida_N) September 6, 2017
Faure Gnsssingbe, just save face and restore our internet. The shutdown was useless as you could see #Togo wants you out. Very simple. pic.twitter.com/z1sS0jwMKy
— Farida Bemba Nabourema (@Farida_N) September 6, 2017
Koffi Inoussa Ayibo, President of Internet Sans Frontières Togo, confirmed this saying; “At around 8 pm UT on 5 September 2017, many users found that they could no longer access Facebook; and WhatsApp, two popular social networks in Togo. We immediately feared that the two operators in Togo have restricted access to social networks. Only the wired network functioned normally.”
“This morning we conducted connection tests in several parts of the country, and found that the Internet is no longer passing on mobile at all, so it was no longer a censorship of certain social networks, but a complete cut of Internet access via mobile.”
The protests and demonstrations have been going on in the country as the the opposition party, Le Parti National Panafricain (PNP), called for the return of the 1992 constitution which guarantees multi-party elections and a two-term limit for the head of state.
The current President’s father changed the terms of the constitution to allow him run or a third term in 2002, three years before his death.
Government spokesperson Gilbert Bawara told a local radio station that there was an ongoing internet restriction.
“Even in most developed countries, authorities take control of telecommunications in some cases,” he said.
AFP news agency reported that mobile internet had been shut down in the capital but added that wi-fi networks were still working.
Last year, eleven African countries shut down internet access ahead of elections and anti-government protests.
