[2] During his father's presidency, he was closely associated with the military[3] and worked as Director-General of the Company for the Administration of the Free Zone (SAZOF) in Lomé.
[4][5] Upon his father's death in February 2005, his brother Faure assumed the presidency, and on 20 June 2005 Kpatcha was appointed to the government as Minister of Defense.
He therefore resigned as Director-General of SAZOF and as head of the board of directors of the Togolese Cotton Company (SOTOCO), and he informed the President of the National Assembly of his willingness to take his seat again on 12 February 2008; accordingly, the Constitutional Court restored him to his seat in a decision issued on 14 February 2008, as he no longer held any positions incompatible with the role of Deputy.
[10] Kpatcha Gnassingbé's home was stormed by elite special forces on 12 April 2009, and two soldiers were reported killed in fighting there.
According to state prosecutor Robert Bakai, there was "serious and corroborating evidence" indicating that Kpatcha Gnassingbé was behind a plot to overthrow his brother Faure.
[11] The opposition Union of the Forces of Change (UFC) criticized the arrest, saying that Gnassingbé enjoyed parliamentary immunity.