JUDGMENT DELIVERED IN THE CASE OF AFANVI AKUYO V. REPUBLIC OF TOGO
ABUJA, 17 March 2025 – The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has today rendered its judgment in Case No. ECW/CCJ/APP/29/22, concerning allegations of human rights violations against a Togolese businesswoman.
The Court found multiple violations of the Applicant’s human rights and ordered the Respondent State to provide appropriate redress.
Background
The Applicant, Ms. Afanvi Akuyo, a Togolese national and businesswoman, was arrested at her home on May 27, 2020, by officers of the National Police Intervention Group (GIPN) under violent and humiliating conditions in the presence of her children.
Following her arrest, the Applicant was detained at the GIPN camp without contact with her family and without access to menstrual hygiene products. She was subsequently transferred to the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ), where her face was publicly displayed on national television as a suspected fraudster.
During her six months of detention, the Applicant appeared before a judge only once, and her requests for provisional release were denied. She was eventually released on May 5, 2021, following a partial judicial ruling.
Key Findings
In its reasoned judgment, the Court held that the Republic of Togo violated:
- The right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights);
- The right to liberty and personal security, due to prolonged arbitrary detention (Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights).
The Court determined that the conditions of the Applicant’s detention constituted a serious violation of her dignity, noting that she was deprived of basic hygiene products, forced to sleep on the floor, and held in the same facility as men.
Remedies Ordered
The Court ordered the Republic of Togo to:
- Pay compensation of 30 million CFA francs to the Applicant for the harm suffered.
- Implement measures to ensure that such violations do not recur, in accordance with Togo’s international human rights obligations.
Composition of the Court
The judgment was delivered by a panel comprising:
- Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, Presiding Judge and Judge Rapporteur
- Honourable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma, Member
- Honourable Justice Dupe Atoki, Member