COVID-19, which first emerged in Wuhan, central China on November 16, 2019, subsequently took the world by surprise that year and caused almost 7 million deaths. Given the lack of high-quality healthcare infrastructure on the African continent, governments were expecting the worst and thereby rallied to contain this disease. However, rather than being an opportunity to strengthen the healthcare systems, crisis management ultimately led to practices of corruption. This has since become indisputable following several reports on Covid-response-fund accounting in certain African countries, including Togo and Senegal. On February 1, 2023, the Togolese Court of Auditors (the body responsible for auditing government accounts) published its audit report on the Covid-19 Response and Solidarity Fund (FRSC) management. This report identified some irregular expenditure, which sparked national public debates. Several contracts were effectively awarded without any framework, and several funds were also spent without any justification. Several leading figures have since spoken out against this corruption, either on social media or during press conferences. On February 7, 2023, Gerry Taama, who is leader of the opposition party, Nouvel Engagement Togolais (New Togolese Commitment, or NET), and a member of the National Assembly, expressed his outrage on Facebook. He demanded the imposition of robust sanctions commensurate with the misconduct identified. (…) c’est un énorme scandale. La lecture de ce rapport m’a donné des frissons. Certains se sont mis bien, et d’autres ont été très négligents, mais en conclusion, l'argent public et l’argent des dons ont été gaspillés, mal gérés ou détourné. (…) Je m’en remets au chef de l’État. Il faut des sanctions et des réparations. (…) this is a major scandal. Reading this report sent shivers down my spine. Some acted transparently, others were extremely remiss. However, public money and donations were ultimately squandered, mismanaged, and misappropriated. (…). Sanctions and reparations are a must. I’ll leave this up to the head of state. Togolese eco-entrepreneur and politician, Nathaniel Olympio, questioned President Faure Gnassingbé’s verdict on this audit report on Twitter. #Togo : Encore corruption sur des milliards ? Le fonds riposte Covid en 2020, c’est 183.494.620.882. Des anomalies, irrégularités et procédures viciées portent sur 39.357.949.757, soit +de 21% du montant du fonds, selon le rapport de la Cour des comptes. Que décide @FEGnassingbe? pic.twitter.com/eM2c86hIaX — Nathaniel Olympio (@nathanielolymp) February 7, 2023 #Togo: More than billions in corruption again? The 2020 Covid response fund was 183,494,620,882 [over EUR 183 billion]. According to the Court of Auditors report, anomalies, irregularities, and flawed proceedings accounted for over 39,357,949,757 [EUR €39 billion], which is more than 21 percent of the fund’s total. What has @FEGnassingbe got to say? pic.twitter.com/eM2c86hIaX — Nathaniel Olympio (@nathanielolymp) February 7, 2023 Various civil society organization groups have also put their foot down. On February 13, 2023, 11 movements and associations called for a judicial inquiry into those accused in this report. February 14 then saw a further five organizations demand the resignation of the current government. In an exclusive interview with Radio France Internationale, Thomas Dodji Koumou who is an economist and president of the Lidaw Coalition, which unites several civil society organizations, feels betrayed and looks to the justice system to make a final ruling. Nous pouvons vous dire aujourd’hui avec certitude que nous sommes en présence d’abus de confiance, de fraude, de fraude fiscale. Nous avons également intégré la sortie de flux par ce qu’on appelle la surfacturation des importations de biens – ça allait dans le cas de la commande des caméras thermiques. Nous comptons désormais sur l'intervention de la justice, qui doit trancher. Today, we can safely say we are dealing with the misappropriation of funds and fraud, fiscal fraud. We have also included the outgoing funds through the so-called over-invoicing of imported goods, as was the case with the thermal camera order. We are thereby relying on the justice system to intervene and make a final ruling. Amidst frenzied waves of indignation, the government issued a press release on February 9, 2023, stating its due acknowledgement of the Court of Auditors report. However, it focused on the fact this report considered its expenditure on barrier, response, and health measures to be compliant, regular, and sincere.