The Togolese artist King Papavi Mensah, a prominent figure in traditional and modern music in Togo, spoke for the first time about the arrest of his young colleague, Aamron, aka Tchala Essowe Narcisse, recently apprehended by the Togolese authorities. This statement comes after numerous social media critiques pointing out his silence.
In an interview broadcasted on social platforms, including TikTok, King Mensah shared his reaction to Aamron’s detention, with whom he had collaborated six months earlier on a track. According to him, this arrest reflects a deeper malaise within Togolese society. Speaking in the Mina language, the artist acknowledged that Aamron’s words are the result of anger that he also shares. “Aamron is very angry. But he is not the only one. Many people are, myself included.”
“I don’t often stay on the social network TikTok, but recently with the buzz reaching me, I decided to go there to see concretely what happened with Aamron. I collaborated with Aamron about 6 months ago, I would say. And when I thoroughly researched everything that happened and everything he said, I understood one thing in my own way, and that is that Aamron is very angry. However, Aamron is not the only one who is angry. Many people are angry, even I, who am here, am angry, and if I say otherwise, I would be lying,” declared the Togolese music artist in the local language (Mina).
For King Mensah, this anger is not directed at any one person in particular but against the social and economic conditions of the country. “Since I was born, I only know one opponent in Togo: poverty,” he said, stressing the need for the government to focus their efforts on fighting poverty.
“I am not angry with anyone, but I am angry about how things are happening in the country. It is not normal. I often say that anger is like drunkenness. Some, when they are drunk, start quarrels with everyone. But others, when drunk, go straight to sleep. In Aamron’s case, I think it was his anger that came out. He couldn’t hold back. But I insist that Aamron’s anger animates us all. Certainly, those who govern us are also angry, and at the same time, we who are governed are also angry, even if not for the same reason. Our anger is something else. Since I was born, I only know one opponent in Togo, and that is poverty. If you are given a country to govern, your first battle should be the fight against poverty. If you manage to push away poverty, the population themselves will applaud you,” he added.
The singer also spoke of the despair of a youth faced with unemployment, illustrating his point by the increasing number of graduates forced to become motorcycle taxi drivers due to a lack of job prospects. “Your parents invest in you, and eventually, you come back to them asking for money. How can you not be angry?”
“What hurts is that when you are born, your parents invest in you so that you become someone tomorrow, but one day, you can’t repay them, and you are forced to return to them to ask for money, you can only be angry,” hammered King Papavi Mensah still in the local language.
To date, no official statement has been made by the Togolese authorities regarding the reasons for Aamron’s arrest. This silence fuels questions about freedom of expression and social tensions in the country.