A blog on Senegalese current affairs in the English language. Our aim to is to make accessible issues of concern only otherwise available in Wolof or French.
Samira
Daoud, Amnesty International's Regional Director for West and Central Africa,
says the authorities in Senegal are stepping up repression ahead of the 2024
election.
"The Senegalese authorities are stepping up repression in the run-up to
the 2024 presidential election by attacking human rights, restricting civic
space, banning demonstrations and detaining a journalist and opposition
figures. In the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, the Senegalese
authorities are undermining human rights protection in the country, including
by restricting the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and
freedom of the press, banning demonstrations organized by opposition parties,
and failing to respect the rights to justice, transparency and truth of victims
of the use of force," said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International's Regional
Director for West and Central Africa.
"Instead of repressing freedoms, the
authorities should respect human rights, stop using excessive force during
demonstrations, allow the media to cover demonstrations, stop arbitrarily
detaining journalists and members of the opposition, and respect the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. This trend of repression must stop
now in order to defuse tensions".
Repression of the Senegalese political
opposition
On 16 March, Ousmane Sonko, leader of the opposition party PASTEF,
appeared before a court in Dakar on charges of defamation after Mame Mbaye
Niang, Senegalese Minister of Tourism, filed a complaint against him. On his way
to court, police fired tear gas and Ousmane Sonko was forcibly removed from his
vehicle and taken by police to the courthouse, after an altercation over his
route. As the trial began, clashes broke out in Dakar between police and
demonstrators expressing support for Sonko. A few hours later, the court
adjourned the trial to 30 March.
Never before has a libel trial required the deployment of
battle tanks and the laying of siege to a defendant's home. Never has a
plaintiff had so many privileges as our Minister of Tourism in the face of a
defendant, a man blessed by the gods, a golden offspring, a "Coumba Am
Ndey" (Refers to a Wolof saying; Coumba am ndey, Coumba amoul ndey – meaning;
one rule for one, one rule for the other), a pampered plaintiff. A Senegalese whose "honour", well,
we suppose he has some, - is so priceless that one should not even venture to
evaluate it. His value exceeds all understanding, all that one can reasonably
imagine. This is why, when he intends to wash it away in court, the scales of
justice go haywire, tipping outrageously to one side, his own of course, and
Themis the goddess of justice goes into a panic. Are citizens equal before the
law?
This is rubbish when the citizen in question is called Mame
Mbaye Niang, when he is a deputy minister of the Republic and the darling of
the First Lady! And when his 'honour' - since he tells us he has some! - is at
stake.
In this country, we have seen the Minister of State Abdoulaye
Wade (in the role at the time, under
President Abdou Diouf) bring a libel complaint against a the "Le
Témoin" newspaper and it’s Director Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye. Before that, as
a simple opponent, Abdoulaye Wadehad
brought the late director of the national daily "Le Soleil", Bara
Diouf, before the courts and then, in a gesture of grandeur withdraw his
complaint at the bar of the court. We saw the wealthy Jean-Claude Mimran take
the then all-powerful Sud Communication group to court. We saw the brothers
Pierre-Babacar and Mansour, then at the height of their influence, sue a
newspaper. Or, the then much feared French publisher Joël Decupper, owner of
the magazine Africa, sue Béchir Ben Yahmad, whose newspaper 'Jeune Afrique' was
- and still is a leading influencer on the continent.
All these defamation cases were judged by the Senegalese
justice system. The law was ruled on, some defendants were convicted, others
were acquitted. The fact remains that these trials were held in accordance with
the rules of the game, with more or less large crowds, depending on the
notoriety of the parties. But never, never, were the defendants and their accompanying
lawyers in these defamation cases gassed, manhandled by the police and taken in
an almost unconscious state to the courtroom! Never were any of them taken
before the judges hand and foot, no matter how powerful the plaintiffs were.
Never have their vehicles been carjacked by the police, never have their car doors
been broken into, never have they been forcibly removed and transported in Police
vans.
Above all, never during all these trials has the economy
been paralysed, schools closed, shop shutters lowered, and the city placed in a
state of emergency. Never has there been ransacking amounting to billions of
francs - Dakar Dem Dikk bus company) alone has estimated its damage at 400
million with three burnt buses and three others stoned -, never has there been
a climate of civil war, or at least of insurrection, marked by clashes between
young people and the forces of order. None of these legal cases has ever
brought our country to the brink of chaos. Never has a libel trial required the
mobilisation of hundreds of police and gendarmes, the deployment of armoured
cars, the laying of siege to a defendant's home. In short, never before has a
plaintiff had so many privileges over a defendant.
The 2024 presidential election, the real stake in an
extraordinary trial
In reality, everyone has understood that by choosing to file
a complaint against the leader of the opposition and hyper-favourite candidate
for the 2024 presidential election, Mame Mbaye Niang does not give a damn about
his own honour because what interests him is to have an opponent convicted and his
candidacy invalidated. We know such a conviction is not difficult when aware of,
let's say, the “benevolence” of our justice system towards the Executive, and
the resulting difficulty of escaping defamation suits!
In these conditions, this unusual case with the real issue
at stake being whether or not a serious presidential
contender can take part in the 2024 presidential election, it is not surprising
that the supporters of this candidate are putting up a fight. They are ready to
do anything to ensure that their
champion is not the sacrificial lamb of the judicial process. Especially when
this same Justice has already “slit the throats” of the two candidates (by
disqualifying them through convictions) likely to constitute obstacles to the
re-election of Mame Mbaye Niang’s boss in the 2019 presidential election!
In any case, the supposed honour of Mame Mbaye Niang is
worth more than the combined honours of all the illustrious civil parties
mentioned above and is more important than the social stability of this
country. Senegal can burn, civil war can take hold, human lives can be lost,
infrastructures destroyed, the economy collapsed, properties ransacked... none
of this matters as long as the honour of Mame Mbaye Niang is cleared! In Saudi
Arabia, we know the super-powerful Mohamed Ben Salman alias MBS, the real
holder of the throne, but in Senegal we have Prince MMBN!
After having been sprayed with an unidentified noxious substance whilst being extracted from his vehicle by Police, Ousmane Sonko, opposition leader has finally been evacuated to hospital affter sufferring serious medical difficulties. His lawyer Cledor Ly who was also sprayed is also in hospital in a critical condition.
Whilst at the court house when Ousmane Sonko started to become overcome with the effects of the substance, and had been examined by medical first aiders, security forces refused to let him be evacuated to hospital. Instead the again forced him into an armoured car and took him home where he returned to the state of illegal house arrest. For some hours an ambulance was denied the ability to take him to hospital, and no doctors were allowed to get access to him. It was only late in the evening that finally he was evacuated to hospital.
This move by the security forces can be seen as a deliberate attempt to compromise Ousmane Sonko's health, well-being and safety, and is being described as an "assassination attempt".
It should be noted that there increasing concern over the indescriminate use of new much more powerful tear gases and sprays. There is no transparancy on what is being used, its country of origin, strengths. In an article in "Science Alert", use of tear gas, which is banned for use in war under the Geneva Convention and classified as a chemical weapon, is mentioned:
"Under
international law, any use of force by law-enforcement authorities must
abide by the principles of necessity and proportionality, but tear gas
is hardly ever used in accordance with such principles."
The sale and trade of tear gas worldwide is largely unregulated, and as a
result, it's often not clear what chemicals exist in each canister, how
toxic these chemicals are, or even whether they've been safety tested
beforehand. The indiscriminate and improper use of tear gas and sprays by the Senegalese security forces is a potential crime under international law and should be investigated, and those giving the guidelines of use held to account.
Today will go down as one of the darkest days in Senegal’s
history. A country that was once recognised as a role model of democracy has
entered a spiral of open dictatorship and open repression.
On the 14 of March, on a visit to Senegal, US Under
Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya,
gushingly tweeted that she was “Thrilled to meet Pres. @Macky_Sall in Dakar
to discuss shared priorities on democracy, human rights, security… Senegal’s
vibrant democratic tradition and efforts to promote peace and prosperity form
the bedrock of the flourishing U.S.-Senegalese partnership”. She further
tweeted her “Thanks Senegal for continued partnership to promote & institutionalize
citizen security, rule of law & respect for human rights principles in law
enforcement.”
The irony and misjudgement of Under Secretary Zeya’s
statements, could not have been greater in the context of events that unfurled
as soon as the door of her plane closed behind her…
On March 14, the day of her statement, something else was
also happening in Senegal. The “Giga meeting” of the opposition coalition Yeewi
Askanwi brought hundreds of thousands of Senegalese together in an
unprecedented protest against President Sall’s suspected intention to breech “Senegal’s
vibrant democratic tradition” by going against the constitution and all his
past statement,to, to seek a third
mandate in the coming presidential elections. They were also protesting against
the regimes constant attacks on the main opposition leader and leading
presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko and his PASTEF party.
Under Secretary Zeya, as a highly informed member of the US
government , would be aware of the accusationsmade that there are ongoing judicial attempts to exclude Sonko from
standing as a candidate (accusation of rape and another of libel). She would
also have been briefed by US intelligence services, on the many national and
international concerns about the credibility of these charges. Indeed, the
Under Secretary had the opportunity to listen the speeches made at the meeting,
by ex-prime minister Ms Aminata Toure, ex-Maire of Dakar and presidential candidate
Khalifa Sall among others, she would have heard the point that “Macky Sall should
not be allowed make Ousmane Sonko into the third credible presidential
candidate eliminated through legal meansby a judiciary whose political independence has been questioned”
The success of the peaceful “giga-meeting” could have been a
shining example of “Senegal’s vibrant democratic tradition”, thousands
and thousands of people meeting with no trouble in what one leading journalist
called “a festival of democracy”. But no, as Under Secretary Zeya’s
plane climbed into the night sky towards neighbouring Mauritania, Ousmane
Sonko’s convoy and supporters, making their way home after the rally,
repeatedly suffered completed unprovoked tear gas attacks at numerous
checkpoints enroute.
From arrival on the evening of the 14th, Ousmane
Sonko was put in an undeclared house arrest with no legal basis or court order.
He was denied the ability to leave and no could anyone enter the barricaded
zone around his house. In the morning of the 15th He was denied the
right to take his son to school and was turned back. Later on that day, when a
delegation of National Assembly members, wearing full ceremonial sashes, made
an attempt to visit they were shot at with tear gas shells without warning. One
National Assembly member, Guy Marius Sagna was injured when a teargas cannister
was shot directly at his leg. Members of
the press corps (including at least one member of the international press) were
repeatedly driven away from the scene with volleys of tear gas. Members of
Ousmane Sonko’s legal team and other well wishers were also denied entry
attacked with tear gas and in some cases arrested.
The 16 March was the date of a hearing in the libel case
against Sonko. The basis of the case is that Mame Mbaye Niang an ex-minister,
had been accused by Ousmane Sonko of being mentioned as implicated in a huge
corruption scheme by a Government financial control agency report, which Niang
denied although he resigned his post at the time.
As Ousmane Sonko, his leading lawyer and security team were
preparing to leave to attend the court they were attacked by the security
forces who surrounded his house. In shocking and totally illegal and
unjustified scenes widely available through live streams, Ousmane Sonko, whilst
giving no resistance, was brutally manhandled from first one car and then another,
both having their windows smashed. His clothes were torn and both him and his
lawyer Cledor Ly were sprayed with an unknown toxic substance. He was then
detained in a Police armoured car which drove him to the court. Again journalists
were attached with direct shots of tear gas and one of Ousmane Sonko’s security
guards was shot in the leg with live ammunition.
At the court, the
hearing had to be first suspended and then postponed as both Sonko and his
lawyer had to receive medical attention. There are concerns about what
substance was used and what long term health effects there may be. Note that as
Ousmane Sonko’s passport is confiscated he is denied from being able to travel
for specialist help.
Even in the court itself, there are reports of Sonko and members
of his legal team suffering obstruction and assault from security services.
It is difficult to see where the Under Secretary’s priorities
of peace and the promotion of citizen security, rule of law & respect for
human rights principles in law enforcement was left as the whole country has
exploded in spontaneous demonstrations as the population express their utter
outrage about the days events.
In March 2021, there had also been another attempt to arrest
of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, which led to several days of protests that
spiralled into widespread riots and looting, causing 13 deaths, more than 600
injuries, and millions of dollars in property damage.
Today, as the outraged young people take to the streets,
they were met, not with attempts by the forces of “law and order” to calm the
situation, but with harsh “disorderly” Police enforcement (random,
indiscriminate attack using volleys of teargas shells, including into vehicles
and houses) accompanied by the same armed militias who caused havoc in 2021
with impunity.
There have been at least two deaths (one in the south of the
country where demonstrators were shot at with live ammunition) and multiple
injuries so far today (15 march). This figure is likely to rise.
Others might beg to differ with Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy,
and Human Rights Uzra Zeya's view or premature pronouncements based on the perception touted by the state. Did she not take for background reading on the flight
from Washington as copy of The US State Department’s “2021 Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices: Senegal” which said that there are:
“Significant human rights issues included credible
reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings including extrajudicial killings by
or on behalf of the government; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment or punishment by or on behalf of the government; harsh and
life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; political
prisoners or detainees; serious problems with the independence of the
judiciary; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including
violence or threats of violence against journalists, censorship, and criminal
libel and slander laws; serious government corruption.”
As the nation descends into chaos, if it is not too late,
the least the Under Secretary can do is to approach her President to mobilise
international pressure on Macky Sall to release all political prisoners, drop
all restrictions on opposition candidates to stand in the coming presidential
elections, and to recognise (as he did in the book he wrote), that he is
constitutionally unable to stand for a third candidacy. When the Senegalese
people are certain that they will be free to vote for the candidate of their
choice in fair and impartial elections, then peace will return.
After Ousmane Sonko, opposition leader was been held in illegal house arrest from this morning, the national assembly member Guy Marius Sagna and several other of his fellow assembly members from the opposition Yewwi Askan Wi parliamentary group came to Cité Keur Gorgui intending to to go to the home of opponent Ousmane Sonko.
They were prevented from reaching Sonko's house by security forces who immediately opened fire on them with teargas shells. One of the of the teargas shells were fired directly at them, and Guy Marius Sagna, wearing his formal National Assembly member sash, received a direct hit in his leg, causing injury.
When the parliamentaries approached the Police lines, lead by the injured GMS, the Police then turned their attention on the press, journalists and camera crews who were deliberately targeted by volleys of tear gas shells to drive them away from the scene. There was no provocation and no demonstrators in the vicinity when they were attacked. The press corps were forced out of the area, preventing them from carrying out their professional duties.
It should be recalled that less than 24 hours ago the US Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, on visit to Senegal, had tweeted thanking the Senegalese Interior Minister Antoine Diome on their "partnership to promote & institutionalize citizen security, rule of law & respect for human rights principles in law enforcement".
It would appear that either elements of the Police, and those that command them, were just waiting for the airplane door to close on her to breech all of those principles , or they had received the green light that the US would look the other way. Which is it?
Today Senegal's main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been placed under illegal house arrest by heavily armed members of the security forces.
Armoured cars, barricades and heavily armed forces have blocked all access roads to his house at Cite Gorgui in Dakar preventing him from driving his son to school.
This measure has been taken illegally without explanation and without any court order. It follows yesterdays massively successive "giga rally" which brought hundreds of thousands of protesters out to make their voices heard against an unconstitutional third candidature for the sitting president Macky Sall in the 2024 presidential elections.
Visitors have been prevented from accessing Ousmane Sonko's residence and he is not being allowed to leave even to take his son to school in clear breech of the basic legal right to freedom of movement. No statement or explanation has been issued by the security forces.
This move also follows unprovoked and repeated attacks by security forces with tear gas on Sonko's convoy as he returned home after the peaceful "giga rally" yesterday evening.
Sendirect TV reported that the member of parliament Guy Marius Sagna has been denied access to visit Ousmane Sonko. He was quoted as saying;
“I inform you that officially President Ousmane Sonko has been illegally placed under house arrest arbitrarily without the order of a judge. I tried a few minutes ago to gain access to Ousmane Sonko's house by all possible access roads. At each police checkpoint I was told 'you cannot access Ousmane Sonko's house'
Guy went on to say "I strongly denounce the illegal placing of the candidate2024 presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko under illegal and warrantless house arrest by President Macky Sall who is seeking to run for an illegal and illegitimate 3rd term and to also determine which candidates can run against him. This will not pass! “
Amadou NIANG a militant of the APR party of Macky Sall made direct threats of violence against President Ousmane Sonko, opposition leader of the PASTEF party, 11 months before the presidential election.
His threat to "burn Ousmane Sonko's house down" was made at a public meeting whilst standing next to the Minister of Youth Pape Malick Ndour. (link)
This is not the first violent threat made by members of the ruling party against the opposition.
Ameth Suzane Camara an APR cadre went on social media to say that "Ousmane Sonko should be killed" (link)
In December a ruling BBY coalition member of parliment threaten the opposition by saying in relation to the coming presidential election "In 2024 we will march on your corpses" (link)
No legal measures, summonses or arrests have been taken in relation to these and other threats, however over a hundred opposition supporters are detained in prison for "opinion crime" - saying something which displeases the regime and includes a leading court journalist and someone who spent months in prison for sharing a satirical post on facebook with an laughing emoji.
As Senegal readies for an oil and gas boom, President Macky Sall is putting the country’s stability at risk by refusing to rule out running for a third term, according to his main political challenger.
Political tensions have risen since the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar alliance had its parliamentary majority reduced to one seat in a legislative vote in July. Ousmane Sonko, leader of the opposition African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity, or Pastef-Patriotes in French, has been charged with rape in what he says is a case designed to prevent him from running in elections next year. He’s also being sued for defamation in a lawsuit that could see him barred.
While Senegal has never suffered a military coup since independence from France in 1960, unlike many in the region, there’s been political unrest in the past. Sall’s rise to power in 2012 came on the back of nationwide protests against then-president Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt to run for a third term, which is barred by the constitution.
It’s up to the president to “deescalate the situation,” Sonko, 48, said in a March 10 interview in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, referencing deadly riots in March 2021 that followed his arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting and threatening a beauty salon employee. “Let’s hope the actors can come to their senses before we cross the red line.”
Sall, 61, won a run-off vote after the Constitutional Court of Senegal ruled that Wade was allowed to stand because his first term didn’t count under the new constitution
Following the finish of the Yewwi Askan Wi "Giga meeting" in Dakar today, where hundreds of thousand of people had met peacefully to express their discontent with the Macky Sall government , the cortege of the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, returning home, was again subject to unprovoked attacked by elements of the security forces with tear gas shells. It should be recalled that a month ago Ousmane Sonko's convoy was similarly blocked and attacked by security forces when returning home from a court appearance. On that occasion his vehicle window was smashed and he was forcibly removed by Gendarmes in order to be take home "for his own safety", images of which shocked viewers around the world.
Earlier on in the day US Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya on a visit to Senegal tweeted that she had been "Thrilled" to meet President Macky Sall to "discuss shared priorities on democracy, human rights, security, & Senegal’s vibrant democratic tradition".
It remains to be seen what her view will be on such a deliberate breech of Senegal's "democracy, human rights, security, & Senegal’s vibrant democratic tradition" when there are such irresponsible and blatant unprovoked violent attacks by "security" forces. Video footage shows heavily armoured police, mounting roadblocks and firing teargas at and into vehicles peacefully making their way home, including at a passing ambulance and into neighbouring houses.
These attacks follows a meeting yesterday when members of president |Macky Sall's party made threats to burn down opposition leader Sonko's house whilst standing next to the Minister for Youth without any sanction.
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.png "English version of PASTEF press statement")
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