LOME, Togo — Security forces briefly detained a former Togo defense minister Wednesday after officials implicated him in an alleged plot to overthrow the West African nation’s president.
LOME, Togo — Security forces briefly detained a former Togo defense minister Wednesday after officials implicated him in an alleged plot to overthrow the West African nation’s president. Uniformed men could be seen bundling Kpatcha Gnassingbe into a military vehicle on the streets of the capital, Lome. Hours later, he was freed and dropped off at his house. He was the country’s defense minister from 2005 to 2007, when he was sacked without explanation by his half brother, President Faure Gnassingbe. Officials weren’t immediately available for comment Wednesday. The 43-year old former minister’s house was ransacked by security forces Monday and later that day prosecutors accused him of plotting to unseat his half brother. Officials said the alleged plot caused the president to scrap a trip to China. The prosecutor says five other senior military officials have been arrested in connection with alleged putsch attempt. Longtime Togo military ruler Gnassingbe Eyadema controlled Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, when his son, Faure, seized power. The son won presidential elections held a few months later under international pressure. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
