Israel’s Quiet Stronghold in West Africa Nobody Talks About
For decades, Israel has maintained what is effectively a vassal state in West Africa. Many have wondered how an illiterate man managed to build the longest-lasting dictatorship on the continent. Gnassingbé Eyadéma understood very early something most African autocrats failed to grasp. Power does not last through brute force alone. It lasts by being useful: extremely useful to the West.
Eyadéma positioned Togo as a regime of services for dirty work. A regime willing to play intermediary in wars, embargoes, and arms trafficking. Togo, tiny and barely noticeable on the map, turned into a hub of global arms trafficking. Weapons acquired mainly from Israel and France were redirected to zones under strict UN embargo.
Togo supplied weapons to the apartheid regime in South Africa. It supplied arms to factions involved in the war in Angola. It supplied Charles Taylor’s forces in Liberia. For decades, dangerous war cargo transited through Lomé, coming from or heading to conflict zones across Central Africa, Angola, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, and more recently other parts of the region. Togo became a logistical safe house for violence.
At the time of his death, Eyadéma maintained one of the closest relationships any African dictator had with Jacques Chirac and with the Israeli leadership. In 2005, he was being flown to Israel for medical treatment when he died. To this day, Israel remains where his son, Faure Gnassingbé, receives military and security support and even medical treatment.
People often ask why coups have failed in Togo and how one family managed to stay in power for almost 60 years. The answer is simple. The personal security of the Togolese president is handled by an Israeli firm. Surveillance, intelligence, and counter-insurgency systems are outsourced since Eyadema’s time. Faure Gnassingbé has continued this alliance to such an extent that Benjamin Netanyahu is the only Western head of government who consistently grants him lavish receptions. Israel is where he vacations and where he is politically validated.
In 2017, Togo was preparing to host the first Israel-Africa Summit. The objective was to institutionalize Israel’s strategic foothold on the continent through compliant regimes. Togo had already become a testing ground for Israeli technologies: spyware, mass surveillance systems, censorship tools.
That same year, when the opposition called for nationwide protests, I publicly stated that we would do everything possible to prevent that summit from taking place. The protests, driven by opposition parties and civil society, were so massive that the summit was canceled.
The regime responded by sending a memo to the United States Department of State. Screenshots of my Facebook posts and those of other activists were attached. I was accused of promoting anti-Jewish hatred and antisemitism in Togo and across Africa. The memo further alleged that I was funded by the Qatari government. I have never met a Qatari official. I have never received a cent from Qatar and the accusation was fabricated to criminalize dissent.
What followed were months of surveillance, threats, harassment, and persecution. The regime worked deliberately to portray me as anti-Israel and antisemitic, while Israel deepened its ties with the dictatorship. Millions were spent lobbying in Washington and Europe to shield the regime diplomatically and consolidate its power.
That same year, Togo became the only African country to vote in favor of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, in defiance of a UN resolution. Since then, Togo has consistently voted in Israel’s favor, including during the Gaza crisis, and has used its diplomatic leverage to rally other African states.
Israel presents itself in Africa as a non-colonial partner. In reality, it plays a double game. It aligns with authoritarian regimes, supplies them with weapons and surveillance tools, and uses them as gateways to militarize the continent. Togo has been central to this strategy. A bastion for arms sale and relay for destabilization of countries that are too close to Israel’s ennemies.
This is how the Gnassingbé regime has survived. In Togo, the struggle is not just domestic: we are fighting an imperial war. One sustained by Israel and France. These two states are the pillars that have kept a military regime in power for six decades making it the oldest military regime in the continent
For decades, Israel has maintained what is effectively a vassal state in West Africa. Many have wondered how an illiterate man managed to build the longest-lasting dictatorship on the continent. Gnassingbé Eyadéma understood very early something most African autocrats failed to grasp. Power does not last through brute force alone. It lasts by being useful: extremely useful to the West.
Eyadéma positioned Togo as a regime of services for dirty work. A regime willing to play intermediary in wars, embargoes, and arms trafficking. Togo, tiny and barely noticeable on the map, turned into a hub of global arms trafficking. Weapons acquired mainly from Israel and France were redirected to zones under strict UN embargo.
Togo supplied weapons to the apartheid regime in South Africa. It supplied arms to factions involved in the war in Angola. It supplied Charles Taylor’s forces in Liberia. For decades, dangerous war cargo transited through Lomé, coming from or heading to conflict zones across Central Africa, Angola, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, and more recently other parts of the region. Togo became a logistical safe house for violence.
At the time of his death, Eyadéma maintained one of the closest relationships any African dictator had with Jacques Chirac and with the Israeli leadership. In 2005, he was being flown to Israel for medical treatment when he died. To this day, Israel remains where his son, Faure Gnassingbé, receives military and security support and even medical treatment.
People often ask why coups have failed in Togo and how one family managed to stay in power for almost 60 years. The answer is simple. The personal security of the Togolese president is handled by an Israeli firm. Surveillance, intelligence, and counter-insurgency systems are outsourced since Eyadema’s time. Faure Gnassingbé has continued this alliance to such an extent that Benjamin Netanyahu is the only Western head of government who consistently grants him lavish receptions. Israel is where he vacations and where he is politically validated.
In 2017, Togo was preparing to host the first Israel-Africa Summit. The objective was to institutionalize Israel’s strategic foothold on the continent through compliant regimes. Togo had already become a testing ground for Israeli technologies: spyware, mass surveillance systems, censorship tools.
That same year, when the opposition called for nationwide protests, I publicly stated that we would do everything possible to prevent that summit from taking place. The protests, driven by opposition parties and civil society, were so massive that the summit was canceled.
The regime responded by sending a memo to the United States Department of State. Screenshots of my Facebook posts and those of other activists were attached. I was accused of promoting anti-Jewish hatred and antisemitism in Togo and across Africa. The memo further alleged that I was funded by the Qatari government. I have never met a Qatari official. I have never received a cent from Qatar and the accusation was fabricated to criminalize dissent.
What followed were months of surveillance, threats, harassment, and persecution. The regime worked deliberately to portray me as anti-Israel and antisemitic, while Israel deepened its ties with the dictatorship. Millions were spent lobbying in Washington and Europe to shield the regime diplomatically and consolidate its power.
That same year, Togo became the only African country to vote in favor of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, in defiance of a UN resolution. Since then, Togo has consistently voted in Israel’s favor, including during the Gaza crisis, and has used its diplomatic leverage to rally other African states.
Israel presents itself in Africa as a non-colonial partner. In reality, it plays a double game. It aligns with authoritarian regimes, supplies them with weapons and surveillance tools, and uses them as gateways to militarize the continent. Togo has been central to this strategy. A bastion for arms sale and relay for destabilization of countries that are too close to Israel’s ennemies.
This is how the Gnassingbé regime has survived. In Togo, the struggle is not just domestic: we are fighting an imperial war. One sustained by Israel and France. These two states are the pillars that have kept a military regime in power for six decades making it the oldest military regime in the continent
