Profile: Togo's vendetta victim

By Ebow Godwin
BBC News, Lome

Veteran Togolese opposition leader, Gilchrist Olympio was viewed as the only man who could end President Gnassingbe Eyadema's 36-year rule.

Olympio is waiting patiently for his time

But that was before the electoral commission frustrated his presidency hopes on the grounds that he did not have a current tax receipt. The ruling was upheld by the constitutional court.

The 66-year-old exile enjoys the status of being the son of Togo's first president, Sylvanus Olympio who was assassinated in January 1963, in what has been described as the first coup d'etat in independent Africa.

Mr Olympio who was 27 at the time of his father's murder, accuses President Eyadema of having a hand in the overthrow and death of his father. But the president vehemently denies that claim.

Shared birthday

The enmity and political rivalry between the two men has become so fierce and intensely personal that commentators are worried it has transformed the democratic struggle in Togo into a vendetta between the Eyadema and Olympio families.

Anyone who has been bitten by a snake, fears even the earthworm Gilchrist Olympio

Ironically, the two men share a birthday having been born on 26 December 1936. Astrologers say that their shared horoscope explains their mutual dislike.

The opposition leader enjoys a large following in the south where people fondly refer to him as Yovovi - the son of the black, white man, because of his fair complexion.

He is an eloquent orator, at ease with French and English. Mr Olympio was educated in Ghana and at the London School of Economics.

He also briefly worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But politics has been his chosen career path.

Waiting game

Since an assassination attempt in 1992 when his motorcade came under fire, Mr Olympio has lived in exile with his wife and children, splitting his time between France and Ghana.

Eyadema is Africa's longest-serving leader

But Mr Olympio denies he is a coward. "Anyone who has been bitten by a snake, fears even the earthworm", he says.

Commentators believe Mr Olympio can still be a powerful political player if he agrees to throw his weight behind one of the opposition candidates.

But this is something My Olympio has refused to do, much to the chagrin of other opposition colleagues.

Despite these setbacks Gilchrist Olympio remains undeterred. He has been quoted as saying "the night may be long but the morning will certainly come."