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A military appeals court in Togo on Friday increased prison sentences for five soldiers convicted over the killing of a senior army officer and close ally of President Faure Gnassingbe, according to a lawyer representing the victim’s family.
Lieutenant-Colonel Bitala Madjoulba, who commanded an elite battalion, was found dead with a bullet wound at a military base in May 2020.
His body was discovered a day after President Gnassingbe was sworn in for a fourth term.
In 2023, a military court found five soldiers guilty of charges including murder and complicity in murder. Among them was General Abalo Kadangha, the former head of Togo’s army.
All five appealed the verdicts. On Friday, however, the appeals tribunal upheld the convictions and increased the sentences.
Kadangha’s prison term was raised from 20 years to 30 years, the family’s lawyer told AFP. Prosecutors had sought a 50-year sentence for the general, who led the army from 2013 to 2020.
The tribunal also handed down longer sentences to the four other convicted soldiers. Also, it overturned the acquittal of a sixth suspect who had been cleared at the first trial, sentencing him to three years in prison, the lawyer said.
Defence lawyers for the accused had argued that there was no evidence to support the charges.
