Frustration over worsening economic conditions, political repression, and lack of opportunity has sparked a wave of youth-led protests in Togo, where demonstrators are calling for the end of a ruling family’s decades-long grip on power.

For 23-year-old university student Elom, the current state of affairs in Togo has left little room for hope.

“We are tired of this regime... We, the youth, have no hope left,” he said, standing alongside fellow students on the streets of Lome. Like every Togolese under the age of 60, Elom has never known a leader outside the Gnassingbe family.

Faure Gnassingbe has ruled Togo since 2005, following the death of his father Eyadema Gnassingbe, who had held power for 38 years.

Now, amid deepening hardship, rising unemployment and political repression, protests that began in early June have grown, with thousands of young people demanding change.

What began as outrage over the arrest of popular rapper Aamron,  detained in late May after posting a satirical message online to mark Gnassingbe’s birthday, quickly turned into widespread anti-government protests.

Aamron was later released, but the wave of demonstrations had already gained momentum.

The protests, mostly led by young people using social media to mobilise, have been met with heavy police force. Several demonstrators were killed during the June clashes, with civil society groups blaming the police for the deaths

. Prosecutors later opened investigations into five deaths, including four from drowning. The victims were aged between 15 and 25 and were recovered from water bodies near the protest zones.

Among the marchers is 26-year-old Anie, who voiced the economic despair felt by many: “We, the youth, suffer in this country. We are hungry.” According to official data, 60 percent of Togo’s eight million people are under 25, while 43 percent live in poverty.

A recent Afrobarometer survey found more than a third of Togolese are considering emigrating.

Even older citizens, such as 55-year-old shopkeeper Glawdys, have joined the protests. “Kids go to study but can’t find jobs,” she said.

The discontent also reflects anger at the recent spike in electricity prices, high joblessness, and a constitutional change in 2024 that switched Togo from a presidential to a parliamentary system, a move critics view as a ploy by Gnassingbe to further entrench power.

“Public administration is rotten with embezzlement and mismanagement,” said 29-year-old motorcycle taxi rider Daniel, capturing a common grievance among protesters.

In response, authorities have dismissed the protests as “attempts at destabilisation.” Territorial administration minister Colonel Hodabalo Awate warned, “Inviting people to engage in gratuitous violence is terrorism.”

Meanwhile, the government has issued international arrest warrants for critics living in exile, including investigative journalist Ferdinand Ayite. “Wherever they live, we will go and get them,” vowed Security Minister Colonel Calixte Madjoulba.

Despite the deadly crackdown, protest organisers  a mix of bloggers, artists, and youth leaders,  have called for fresh demonstrations during the municipal elections scheduled for July 16 and 17. “I’ll be back in the streets on July 16 and 17 — the fight continues,” said 36-year-old chauffeur Yannick.

According to political analyst Mohamed Madi Djabakate, this movement is unlike past opposition efforts.

“The insurrection is led by a generation that has not experienced the euphoria of multiparty politics in the 1990s and is now seeking to create its own form of protest, with its own codes, language and modes of action,” he observed.

As tensions rise, the government’s technical education minister, Isaac Tchiakpe, has insisted there are employment pathways for the youth.

However, with the country needing to create one million jobs by 2030 to keep up with demand, according to the World Bank, young Togolese remain unconvinced and increasingly determined to demand change in the streets.