The last time Gnassingbe was spotted in public was two and a half weeks ago, on June 5, 2015. He was seen in Ghana consoling the families of victims of the gas station explosion in the nation’s capital, Accra.
A reputable French Newspaper, Lettreducontinent, reported that Gnassingbe is currently sick at a hospital in Turin, Italy where he is receiving treatment for an unknown condition.
The silence surrounding the President and his aides is emboldening rumors of his hospitalization, and there has been no public notification from anyone in his government.
This is not the first occasion where the Togolese government remained silent about the illness or death of its Head of State. The father, and previous President of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, died while being evacuated to seek medical treatment in Tel Aviv which was not immediately announced by the government.
Fellow Head of States in neighboring West African countries are particularly concerned especially since President Gnassingbe was absent at the 25th African Union summit held in Johannesburg on the 14th and 15th of June.
Faure Gnassingbe won his third term in April 2015, defeating his main challenger, Jean-Pierre Fabre. Moreover, no oaths have been administered by the Supreme Court leading some critics to worry that there may be a constitutional crisis in the coming days.
No official word yet from the Togolese government regarding the well being of Gnassingbe.
