Rumour and power in Togo

The article describes some of the main political events which took place in Togo in mid to late 1991, at a time when the power of President Gnassingbé Eyadéma was facing more serious opposition than at any time since his assumption of the presidency twenty-four years earlier, and examines how these events were represented in popular discussion in Lomé. The main forum of debate was the National Conference inaugurated in Lomé in July 1991. The work of the conference was both supplemented and encouraged by the growth of the free press. Another source of information was the form of oral communication known in French as 'radio trottoir'. By analysing some aspects of the power struggle in that period, and popular perceptions of them, the article aims to shed light on the cultural mechanisms by which Eyadéma sustained himself in power and through which his power could be contested. It argues that 'radio trottoir' is a crucial element in the interplay of forces between State and civil society in Togo. Bibliog., note, sum. in English and French