The Senegalese experienced it at the end of Macky Sall's regime. They are still experiencing it under the regime of President Diomaye Faye. Arrests and arrests of citizens linked to crimes of opinion persist.
The series of hearings and arrests of opponents, journalists or activists deemed critical of the new power in Senegal continues. Elected with a comfortable score in the presidential election of March 2024 and reinforced by an “overwhelming” majority during the legislative elections of November 17, 2024, President Diomaye Faye is struggling to calm the public space. The political climate remains deleterious with the political-legal battle for control of Dakar town hall and the arrests of those who speak out against each other.
Adama Gaye, journalist and businessman very active on social networks, with sharp speeches; Madiambal Diagne, journalist, businessman and close to the old regime; Ameth Ndoye, “columnist” omnipresent on Youtube channels and sometimes on television channels; Moustapha Diakhaté, former deputy and opponent of the new regime: the list is not exhaustive. What they have in common is that they are critical of the new regime and are paying the price.
In recent weeks or months, they have all been the subject of arrests or legal proceedings by the new authorities or their allies. If Adama Gaye and Madiambal are still free, Moustapha Diakhaté is currently serving a two-month sentence.
These practices are “deplorable for the image of Senegal”, comments the journalist and political analyst, Ibrahima Bakhoum, contacted by Ouestaf News. According to him, these political tensions took place most of the time in the context of “fading regimes”. Their occurrence a few months after the arrival of a new regime is “worrying” and raises fears of a more electric climate given the high expectations not yet met by the authorities.
On December 16, 2024, journalist Madiambal Diagne, also a businessman, was before the Dakar Urban Security police officers to respond to two complaints for defamation. One was introduced by Lamine Bara Diop, a member of the ruling party, and the other by the deputy and entrepreneur, Abdoulaye Sylla (opponent).
The president of the “Avenir Communication” press group, which publishes the newspaper Le Quotidien, is a very critical voice of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. He had already been heard on December 13, 2024, following a complaint filed by Mr. Sonko, in particular for “defamation, public insults,” and “dissemination of false news”.
At the same time as Madiambal was summoned, journalist Adama Gaye responded to a summons from the police Cybercrime Division. He was responding to a complaint from the Minister of Labor, Abass Fall, in a case of alleged corruption which had made headlines in the press and which the journalist had also mentioned on his social networks.
Madiambal Diagne and Adama Gaye both walked away from their auditions. But before that, Adama was the subject of a first police custody at the end of November 2024, followed by a trial. He was tried and released following comments on the circumstances of the death, at the beginning of November in Paris, of former Finance Minister Mamadou Moustapha Ba.
For his part, Moustapha Diakhaté, former deputy, has been serving a two-month prison sentence since November 28, 2024. He was accused of having described the Senegalese as a “cursed people” for having chosen the Pastef party (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity) during the March presidential and legislative elections. of November 2024. Moustapha Diakhaté is one of the most virulent opponents against Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
The authorities must “end” prison sentences for crimes of “undermining the reputation of people and the dissemination of false news”, believes Seydi Gassama, executive director of the Senegalese section of Amnesty International. In a post on
These legal proceedings take place in a context of tensions surrounding an attempted dismissal of the mayor of Dakar, Barthélemy Dias. On December 13, 2024, the Prefect of Dakar recorded his dismissal following a request from an activist of the ruling party.
Mr Dias rejects the decision and has already lodged an appeal. But since then, the police have prohibited the mayor from entering the municipal institution of the capital, leading to several episodes of tension in front of the city hall and in some neighborhoods where Mr. Dias said he was planning activities.
The opponent had just lost his new mandate as deputy following a request from the Ministry of Justice to the office of the National Assembly.
Barthélemy Dias' troubles stem from a conviction in February 2017 to two years in prison for fatal assault. A sentence that became final on December 22, 2023 after the rejection of his appeal by the Supreme Court. He was convicted for the shooting death of Ndiaga Diouf, a member of a group which had attacked, on December 22, 2011, the town hall of Mermoz-Sacré-Cœur (Dakar commune) which Mr. Dias headed at the time.
Despite its legal basis, analyzes Ibrahima Bakhoum, the act taken has the appearance of a “settling of scores” between the mayor of Dakar and his former allies in the opposition. Because, according to the political analyst, there is a liability which has not been “reabsorbed” in the old political coalitions which imploded following crises of confidence between the members.
Before becoming sworn enemies, Barthélémy and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko were allies in the fight against the Macky Sall regime. At the time, Ousmane Sonko defended Dias, accusing ex-President Sall of wanting to use legal cases to dismiss the mayor of Dakar.
Far from being an “arbitrary” decision, the forfeiture of Barthélémy Dias is a “logical and obligatory” consequence of the application of the provisions of the Electoral Code, notes government deputy Ismaïla Diallo. This approach illustrates the authorities' attachment to “respect for the laws” and “preserving the credibility of institutions”, he wrote on Facebook the day after the Prefect's decision.
All this gives a feeling of déjà vu to the Senegalese who experienced the worst in the period 2021-2024 under Macky Sall, with its share of deaths and imprisonments. We are still far from reaching this level. But in terms of democracy and guaranteeing freedom of expression, the current political climate can harm the “good image” of Senegal, says Mr. Bakhoum.
Attempts to contact people close to the Prime Minister or members of his party to obtain their versions remained in vain.
But according to Dame Mbodj, one of Pastef's most loyal allies, there is no “instrumentalization” of justice by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye or the head of government, Ousmane Sonko. Guest of the Pencoo program on the private channel Walf TV, on November 22, 2024, Mr. Mbodj estimated that there is a “survival” of texts and practices inherited from previous regimes. According to him, these imperfections will be corrected as part of the justice reforms initiated by the new executive.
The government's desire to silence the voices that disturb the new power was manifested in the first months after the election of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye: the journalist Cheikh Yérim Seck; the opponent and businessman Bougane Guèye; Cheikhouna Keita, former police commissioner; the activist Bah Diakhate and Ahmet Suzanne Camara, member of the Alliance for the Republic (APR-former ruling party), among others, have already been arrested or imprisoned, some of them. Most were accused of spreading false news, defamation or insulting remarks, often against the ruling party or the Prime Minister himself.
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