But the Togolese franc would never see the light of day: on 13 January 1963, at 7.15 AM, Sylvanus Olympio was shot dead in front of the gate of the American embassy, in Lomé, by a group of former Togolese soldiers who had served in the French army. Sergeant Étienne Gnassingbé aka ‘Eyadéma’, who was part of the murderous commando, would later claim responsibility for the murder, before denying it a few years later. He and his cohorts immediately sided with France, declaring: ‘France is our friend.’ On 26 January 1963, Théophile Mally, former Togolese Minister of the Interior, accused the French ambassador, Henri Mazoyer, as well as two French officers who served in the Togolese armed forces, of orchestrating the coup.

Fanny Pigeaud_ Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa's Last Colonial Curr…, loc. 168