Background to the Weapons Being Used By Pro-Government Militias on the Streets of Dakar - Shady Deal by Notorious Nigerian Arms Deal and Israeli Arms Firm

 

Notorious Nigerien Weapons Broker Lands Secret Arms Deal in Senegal

 by Chikezie Omeje (OCCRP), Arwa Barkallah (OCCRP)

 

 A contract seen by OCCRP shows how Aboubakar Hima, who allegedly skimmed millions from $240 million in corrupt arms deals in his native Niger, may be up to his old tricks further from home.

 

• Key Findings

• Lavie Commercial Brokers, a firm behind a recent deal in Senegal, was set up by Aboubakar Hima, who has been accused of skimming off the top of inflated arms deals, and sometimes not even delivering weapons at all.
• As well as the accusations against him in Niger, Hima was declared wanted by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency for his role in $400 million worth of fraudulent arms contracts.
• The new Senegal deal was signed on Hima’s firm’s behalf by David Benzaquen, a former employee of a major Israeli arms dealer who is now Lavie’s general manager.

 

 At the beginning of this year, a Senegalese state agency signed a deal to purchase $77 million worth of assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols, ammunition, and other weapons from a little-known local firm that had only been set up a couple months earlier.

The contract was unusual in other ways, too. The agency that bought the arms was not the military, but the Environment Ministry. Still, the contract was never put out to bid, and once the deal was signed it was kept quiet, ostensibly due to Senegal’s defense security law. But OCCRP, in partnership with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, learned of the deal and obtained a copy of the contract.

The supplier of the arms, Lavie Commercial Brokers, turns out to have been set up by the notorious West African businessman Aboubakar Hima, who is suspected of siphoning millions from inflated arms deals in Nigeria and his home country of Niger. An expert who discussed the Senegal deal with OCCRP reporters said irregularities in the contract suggested its price might also have been inflated.

Hima, who is often known by the nickname “Petit Boubé,” is no stranger to controversy. He has had some of his millions seized by the U.S. and South African authorities over illicit arms deals, and is wanted in Nigeria for his alleged role in making fraudulent arms deals with the government. In 2020, OCCRP revealed that a Nigerien government audit found Hima had brokered corrupt arms deals worth $240 million.

Perhaps conscious of his own notoriety, Hima may have sought to disguise his involvement in the Senegalese arms contract. While he is the only person named on registration documents for Lavie Commercial Brokers, the contract was signed on his firm’s behalf by Israel-based David Benzaquen, the company’s general manager.

Benzaquen founded an Israeli company called Lavie Strategies, which is licensed to export weapons by Israel’s Ministry of Defense. He is a former employee of Israeli arms dealer Gabi Peretz, a close friend of Senegal’s President Macky Sall. Peretz is known to supply military equipment to countries in West and Central Africa. Around the time that Hima’s firm obtained the Senegal contract, Peretz offered a 300-million-euro credit line to the Senegalese military, according to the Africa Intelligence news outlet.

In an emailed response to questions, Peretz said he had not had any contact with Hima since at least 2015 and had no knowledge of Lavie Commercial Brokers. He said Benzaquen had not worked for him since 2018 and “does not represent us,” and that he had no knowledge of Lavie’s contract in Senegal.

 

C’est Lavie

Benzaquen’s company was incorporated in Israel in 2013 under the name Gour Arye Africa Ltd, before being changed to Lavie Strategies in 2019. According to its website, Lavie Strategies is also present in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, and specializes in projects in the military, agricultural and medical sectors.

It’s unclear how (or if) Lavie Commercial Brokers — which was incorporated by Hima in Senegal in November 2021 — is connected to Benzaquen’s Lavie Strategies, but reporters found a number of other similarly named companies around the world, most of them tied to either Hima or Benzaquen.

In Burkina Faso, registration documents show Hima is the manager of Lavie Commercial Brokers and Lavie Consulting Limited, both set up in January 2022. In Niger, Hima is the manager of Lavie Strategies Limited and Lavie Consulting, both incorporated in early 2021. Company records from Dubai show the existence of Lavie Commercial Brokers in the United Arab Emirates. There is no owner or manager named, but the contact email address is david@lavie-strategies.com, suggesting Benzaquen might be involved with the company. Reporters also identified a Lavie Strategies Burkina in Burkina Faso and Lavie Consulting LLC in Delaware in the U.S., although neither Hima nor Benzaquen appeared on these corporate records.

 Senegal has been fighting a decades-long armed conflict with rebels in the southern Casamance region, along its borders with Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. Guerilla groups in the forests have smuggled timber and cannabis to finance themselves, and Senegalese forest rangers — overseen by the Environment Ministry — must arm themselves as a result. But experts questioned whether the Environment Ministry should have signed such a large and secretive weapons contract.

“We can ask ourselves the question if it is really necessary [for forest rangers to have assault rifles],” said Professor Semou Ndiaye, a consultant and researcher in corruption and good governance. “[The arrangement] is opaque. It is a deal that is directly arranged and naturally, there is a risk of corruption…the authorities can do as they see fit and there is a heightened risk of overpricing [of contracts].”

An analyst with experience in the security sector in Senegal, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said it was “very unlikely” the Environment Ministry would need to spend tens of millions on arms.

“There have been recent increases in fighting between the army and rebels in Casamance, but I am not aware of any major incidents with the forest rangers,” he said. “I don’t think such a big contract should be signed by a single ministry without the involvement of security forces. And the Environment Ministry is obviously not buying weapons for the army.”

Experts also said it was surprising and problematic that Senegal would ink a major arms deal with a dealer found to be defrauding other governments.

“No responsible buyer, whether a government agency or a private company, does business with an individual who has a record of fraudulent dealing,” said Richard Messick, a former senior operations specialist at the World Bank who now consults for international organizations on legal development and anticorruption.

“It may be that the accusations against Mr. Hima are without merit. A responsible buyer would make absolutely sure of that before contracting with him,” he added.

 Abdou Karim Sall and Aboulaye Daouda Diallo, who signed the contract in their respective roles as Minister of Environment and Minister of Finance at the time, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

OCCRP could not reach Hima for comment. Reporters sent detailed questions to Hima’s Nigerian lawyer Kayode Ajulo, but he refused to pass them on to his client. “I don’t run such errands,” he said.

Haaretz contacted Benzaquen by telephone, but he refused to respond to questions. Senegal’s Ministries of Environment and Finance did not respond to written questions.

From Paper to Bullets
Hima’s path to West African arms dealer was an unconventional one, aided by his marriage and the necessities of war.

His first known business was Imprimerie du Plateau, a printing firm he set up in Niger in 2003.

In 2005 he married the daughter of the country’s former president, Ibrahim Bare Maïnassara, who had been killed in a coup some years earlier. The marriage brought him closer to Niger’s political establishment, and by 2010 he was in the arms business in neighboring Nigeria.

In Nigeria, Hima made a fortune during the 2010-2015 administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. He worked frequently with Sambo Dasuki, a national security adviser to the Jonathan government who was later accused of mismanaging $2.1 billion connected to arms deals.

Hima set up a Nigerian arms-dealing firm, Societe D’Equipments Internationaux Nigeria Ltd, in May 2014, not long after nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram Islamic militants. Facing immense pressure to rescue the girls but under a U.S. arms embargo, the Nigerian government turned to brokers like Hima.

Between 2014 and 2015, Hima netted over $400 million in fraudulent arms contracts, according to the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which claimed he received government money for the purchase of military equipment for Nigerian forces but didn’t supply all of the gear.

Hima allegedly bribed Nigerian military officers to win these contracts, according to Nigerian court records. One was Alkali Mohammadu Mamu, a former group managing director of the Nigerian air force’s holding company, who was found guilty of corruption after taking $300,000 in currency and an unknown number of cars from Hima.

The Nigerian findings were similar to the findings of the Inspection Générale des Armées, an independent body that audits the armed forces in Niger. Auditors, looking at the period 2011 to 2019, discovered that many deals Hima facilitated in that country were significantly overpriced and the equipment was sometimes never delivered. Those deals by Hima, according to the audit report, were worth $240 million.

 

Procurement Problems

In addition to fraudulently selling weapons to Nigeria, Hima also ran into trouble procuring the weapons in the first place. In both the U.S. and South Africa, he tried to buy arms from dealers that did not have the proper registration or export licenses.

In South Africa in 2014, officials seized $5.7 million wired to a South African arms brokerage company, Cerberus Risk Solutions, by Hima’s firm SEI because Cerberus didn’t have the required registration to deal in arms in South Africa, according to media reports.

The following year, the U.S. seized more than $6 million from Ara G. Dolarian, a U.S.-based arms broker, who had signed contracts totaling $246.4 million to sell arms to Hima for Nigeria, even though Dolarian did not have the appropriate licenses.

Dolarian’s application to supply the arms had been rejected by the U.S. Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, but he continued dealing with Hima and negotiating with different arms vendors in violation of America’s Arms Export Control Act, according to a civil action suit taken by U.S. authorities, which sought the forfeiture of the money Hima had wired to Dolarian.

Hima had paid Dolarian a total of $8.6 million but never got any arms. Hima later sued Dolarian in U.S. court to recover his money. In 2019, Dolarian pled guilty to brokering an illegal arms deal with the Nigerian government.

 

 Red Flags and Five-Star Travel
OCCRP could not confirm whether the weapons in the Senegal deal have been delivered, but the contract covers a wide range of materials and services, from guns and ammunition to boats, pick-up trucks, cars, uniforms, and even drone training courses. Lavie Commercial Brokers agreed to finance the deal upfront, with the Senegalese authorities then paying the company in installments of about 9.06 billion CFA francs ($15.4 million) annually until 2026.

The Senegal deal also provides for two Lavie-funded trips to Dubai for a six-person Senegalese delegation, so that officials can inspect the items before their delivery to Senegal. The contract says the officials are to travel business class and stay at a five-star hotel.

Experts said the contract has red flags for artificially inflated pricing — the same offense that Hima was previously accused of in Niger and Nigeria. Most concerningly, the costs are not itemized. Instead, only the single lump sum of 45.3 billion CFA francs ($77 million) is cited in the document.

“Good practice in any contract for goods or equipment is to itemize the price of the individual items,” said Messick, the former World Bank specialist and corruption expert.

"When a single price is quoted for numerous items…it is very hard to know whether the government is being overcharged."
– Richard Messick, Anticorruption Specialist

“When a single price is quoted for numerous items…it is very hard to know whether the government is being overcharged,” Messick told OCCRP.

Chidi Nwaonu, a defense expert with London-based Peccavi Consulting, also said the lack of price itemization in the contract was a red flag.

“The arms trade is traditionally opaque and corrupt but in Africa it is even more so as arms purchases are shrouded by ‘national security,’” he added.

A transparency campaign group representative in Senegal called for an investigation into the contract and warned of the damaging effect corruption has on the country.

“Corruption weakens the Senegalese state and compromises the development and stability of the country,” said Papa Fara Diallo, president of the Seneglese office of Publish What You Pay, a global coalition of pro-transparency campaigners. “Even if defense secrets mean certain pieces of information cannot be made public, that does not mean the authorities can allow acts of corruption or embezzlement of public money.”

Fact-checking was provided by the OCCRP Fact checking department

 

Open Letter to to the British Public on the invitation of Macky Sall to King Charles III Coronation

 

 It is with great disappointment that I write this open letter.

I note that President Macky Sall of Senegal has been invited to attend King Charles’ Coronation as a guest .

I am concerned that this will bring a reputational damage on British institutionss by being perceived as “rewarding” someone who is rapidly degrading Senegal’s democracy:

•              Sall and his brother were implicated in a BBC documentary on a $10 billion oil and gas deal corruption scandal involving BP.

•              The Senegalese constitution specifically rejects a third mandate by a sitting president, but the President now says it is his own “personal decision” whether to stand. Bloomberg reports that Sall is “putting the country’s stability at risk by refusing to rule out running for a third term”.

•              The US State Department’s 2022 report on Senegal  highlights “Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings; 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”

•              Amnesty International states; “Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the Senegalese authorities are weakening human rights protection in the country”

•              Article 19 raised concerns; “As Senegal gears up for an election, media freedom and the protection of other rights, including the right to protest, have been severely compromised…. journalists have been attacked, naturally hindering their ability to perform their duties without fear. Reports indicate violations of the right to peaceful protest, with citizens being met with excessive force and arbitrary arrests during demonstrations… political parties are facing a blatant crackdown, their supporters and members have been arrested and prosecuted across the country. These developments are extremely worrying, as they threaten the democratic process in Senegal”.

 I believe that the invitation should never have been issued and that it is grossly inappropritae and embarassing to see a "wanna be" dictator using a British state occassion, in his few remaining months in office, s to try and get publicity at home to desperately prove his international respectability.

This is a gross error of British diplomacy who should as a minimum remain neutral in Senegalese political affairs

 Yours Sincerely,

 A concerned Senegalese resident of the UK

Macky Sall - "Return of interminable president in Africa" by Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

 FROM: PUNCH (Nigeria)

 

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Macky Sall, Senegal’s president since the beginning of April 2012, has had somewhat of a charmed life. Born in December 1961, he has lived at the cutting edge of his country’s political leadership for over a quarter of a century as city mayor, cabinet minister, prime minister, president of the National Assembly, and president. Over this period, he has been a leader in the opposition Democratic Party of Senegal (PDS), protégé and later opponent to President Abdoulaye Wade, and since 2008, founder of a party political start-up, Alliance for the Republic (APR). 

To become president in 2012, he defeated the incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade, precluding him from re-election to what would have been a third term.

Now approaching the sun-set of his second term, which will end in 2024, Macky Sall wants to up-end his country’s constitution and do that for which he excoriated and ultimately defeated his predecessor and mentor – run for a third term. After months of ill-concealed dithering, he has all but confirmed his intention to run for what would be a constitutionally prohibited third term in a recent interview with French Magazine, L’Express.

Article 27 of Senegal’s 2016 Constitution could not be clearer: it prescribes the duration of a presidential term as five years and adds that “[n]o one may exercise more than two consecutive mandates.” If Macky were to finagle a tilt at the presidency for a third time, he would be in breach of this provision. 

For the moment, it seems, his plan is more than merely to run again. To make that happen, he seems intent on dictating whom he will run against too. His strongest opponent is Mayor of Ziguinchor and founder of the “Yewwi askan wi” (Free the People) coalition, Ousmane Sonko, whom Macky has systematically sought to tarnish and exclude from the contest with a succession of desperately specious criminal charges, so he can designate a hapless paper-weight as his opponent.

Macky Sall is the latest of Africa’s president in search of an interminable presidency. If he succeeds, he will be at least the 15th African president to do so in eight years since 2015. It was not supposed to be this way. 

Independence in many African countries arrived as somewhat of an anti-climax. In its wake, constitutional instability established itself as the preferred means of succession to power. In the 50 years from the beginning of 1955 to the end of 2004, West Africa alone reported 169 “military interventions of some type”, both successful and unsuccessful. There From 1952 to 1998, the continent recorded 85 successful coups. The cost to the continent was incalculable. Ironically, Macky Sall’s Senegal was one of the few countries on the continent that has so far not reported any.

The mutual assurance of non-interference on the back of which this toxic trend was established began to suffer re-examination following the onset of the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1989. In 1990, Nigeria led the launch of a regional peace-enforcement intervention in Liberia which altered the way in which the continent responded to internal instability. The following year, in African leaders in Kampala, Uganda, diagnosed the interminable presidency as central to the continent’s conflict and instability pathologies and agreed that “[t]here should be periodic renewal of the mandate of political leaders. At the same time, the tenure of elected leaders in various branches of government should be constitutionally limited to a given number of years.” 

In the four years that followed 37 African countries altered their constitutions, with 37 of them introducing presidential term limits. At the continental level, regional institutions, including the Economic Community of African States, ECOWAS, and the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, which became the African Union in 2000, began to evolve rules for oversight over elections and constitutional instability.

What emerged by the turn of the millennium was a continental package deal, by which the leaders of the continent agreed three things. First, access to political power would be based on political legitimacy conferred through credible elections, supervised by regional institutions. Second, to guarantee political competition, presidential term limits will be limited. Third, in return for respect for these two stipulations, the continent outlawed unconstitutional changes in government or coups. 

By 2014, the continent went further to make the unconstitutional change in government an international crime in Africa. Those involved in it will become liable to be tried before the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights.  This was far reaching.

In effect, the prohibition against unconstitutional changes of government in Africa was part of an implicit bargain to install guardrails against abuse of presidential incumbency on the understanding that those who seek power had to undertake to abide by some determinate rules for access thereto. These rules were meant to ensure that they will not seek to convert incumbency into interminable rulership.

But, far from eventuating, what has happened nearly across the continent is that incumbents and their parties, aided by the willing complicity or abdication of regional institutions, have retrenched the norms on term limits and credible elections, while simultaneously entrenching the prohibition against unconstitutional changes in government into a rule for interminable presidency.

In response, coups are making a return to the continent on an “epidemic” level. Take Guinea for instance. The country had never had a peaceful transition of power in over half a century of independence before 2010, when it installed Alpha Condé as its elected president. Under the Constitution, he was allowed two terms of five years each, which were to lapse in 2020. But, rather than quit power as stipulated, President Condé, who was born in 1938, chose at 82 to organize a rigged referendum to amend the constitution, enabling him to rule until he was at least 94 years old. To ensure this, President Condé deployed the military, killing many protesters against the referendum.

Seven months later, amidst even more violent protests and more killings, Condé got himself proclaimed winner in elections for his interminable presidency boycotted by the opposition. Neither ECOWAS nor the African Union remembered that there were continental norms against interminable presidency and rigged ballots. In September 2021, the military overthrew President Condé, whereupon ECOWAS and the African Union quickly re-discovered their voices. 

As President Condé was busy securing his interminable presidency in Guinea, the ruling party in Mali organized elections under cover of COVID-19, at the end of which they used the judiciary to steal seats won by the opposition. What followed was a mass uprising which ultimately led the military to sack an unpopular ruling party and take over power. Once again, the AU and ECOWAS, complicitly silent in the preceding manipulation and fabrications, suddenly perked up.

By the turn of the millennium, military rule in Africa had rightly passed its sell-by date. Yet since 2002, the African Union has recorded and acted against 14 successful coups, most of them the result of presidential abuse of power or against the designs of an interminable presidency.

Africa, the continent with the youngest demographic in the world now has the distinction of having the four longest serving elective presidencies in the world. In Gabon and Togo, the Bongo and Eyadema dynasties have been in power for 55 years each. Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang approaches his 44th year as president, while Cameroon’s Paul Biya has clocked over 40. 

Across the continent, elections are in disrepute and the interminable president is back in vogue. Senegal’s Macky Sall is its latest poster boy. What happens over the next year with his effort to dismantle the constitution will be pivotal for the fate of the continent.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu

In Senegal, the government is cracking down on human rights - National Public Radio (USA) Interview

 Listen to National Public Radio (USA) interview on Senegal

 

LISTEN HERE

 

NPR's Miles Parks speaks with Ousmane Diallo, a researcher at Amnesty International, about the state of democracy in Senegal, amid government crackdowns on human rights and political opposition.

TRANSCRIPT:

MILES PARKS, HOST:

Senegal is widely touted as a model of democracy in West Africa, but recent crackdowns on journalists and opposition leaders there have some questioning whether the country is headed into a backslide. Ousmane Diallo is a researcher at Amnesty International in Dakar. He joins us now to tell us about what they're seeing there. Hi, Ousmane.

OUSMANE DIALLO: Hello, Miles.

PARKS: So can you give us a real quick overview of Senegal's system of government? I know it has this reputation of stability, but can you tell us why it has this reputation?

DIALLO: Senegal, as you know, is one of the longest democracies in West Africa. There has never been a military takeover in Senegal. There has never been a military rule to the difference of many neighboring countries. Senegal stands out as a democratic beacon in the region. But now, I think, over the last two years, authorities have intensified repression.

PARKS: It seems like a big concern is retaliation against opposition leaders to the current president, Macky Sall. Can you tell us about what's happened just in that individual aspect of this?

DIALLO: Yes. So it's in the context of the 2024 presidential elections. Since there are judicial cases against one opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, there is an intense militarization of law and order in Senegal, and the neighborhood of Ousmane Sonko has been barricaded by the police, actually.

PARKS: And what about the charges against this opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko?

DIALLO: There are two cases against him. The first is a rape complaint. But also there is another case of defamation. What is really at stake right now is that a conviction of Ousmane Sonko in one of the two charges against him could render him ineligible to the 2024 presidential elections.

PARKS: So turning to the media now - some journalists have also been arrested recently in Senegal. Can you talk a little bit about the charges that are being brought against them?

DIALLO: Just two weeks ago, a journalist was arrested and charged with contempt of court and dissemination of fake news. And this charge of dissemination of fake news has been used a lot to jail journalists and opposition figures or even members of the civil society that talk and comment about the political situation. Even in the case of Pape Ale Niang, who is a journalist of Wolof TV, the arrest and charges are linked to the case against Ousmane Sonko.

PARKS: See, all of this is surprising to me, Ousmane, because my understanding was that Senegal had a fairly robust media landscape over the last few years. When did this start shifting?

DIALLO: Since the March 2021 protests, we have seen more pressure against press actors.

PARKS: These protests - what happened, and what did they lead to?

DIALLO: So this protest in March 2021 were, I think, rather unique in the recent political history of Senegal, and they were triggered actually by the arrest of Ousmane Sonko while he was responding to a summons on the rape case filed against him. The security forces used lethal force against those protesters, and we had accounted around 14 people that died during the protest. Three were children. It marked a milestone in Senegal about the relations between the citizenry and the security forces and the lack of accountability related to the death of those 14 people is still a sore issue in the public debate in Senegal.

PARKS: There are reports that President Sall, the current president, might try to run for a third term. There is a two-term limit for the office, but I read today that he does not feel like it applies to him. Can you tell us about that?

DIALLO: Yes, Senegalese were surprised following a media interview made by President Macky Sall to a French newspaper L'Express in which he said that he was eligible to a third term, but he hasn't made his decision.

PARKS: What would be the response among the population there if President Macky Sall does run for this third term?

DIALLO: I think this situation is contributing to the instability of Senegal, because regarding the eligibility of the president, Macky Sall, the question will be decided by the Constitutional Council. It is going to be challenged, and there is going to be a violent protest irrespective of the decision.

PARKS: Can you talk broadly what all this means for all of West Africa? Considering how important Senegal has been as this sort of model of democracy, what does this backsliding mean for the region?

DIALLO: We have seen the coup d'etat in Mali and also in Burkina Faso, and also we have seen third-term bids by President Alassane Dramane Ouattara in Cote d'Ivoire. Many West Africans see the situation in Senegal as epitomizing the travails of the region. Unfortunately, I think if the situation in Senegal takes a turn for the worse, we are likely to see more backsliding in the region and more disaffection actually against political elites by the citizenry of Senegal, but also Mali, Cote d'Ivoire and the rest of the West African countries.

PARKS: That's Ousmane Diallo, a researcher at Amnesty International in Senegal. Thank you so much for joining us.

DIALLO: Thank you so much.

Ousmane Sonko's "Meet the People" tour again attacked with tear gas by security forces

 

Play here (Wolof & French) https://youtu.be/JHknafs6haQ

For the umpteenth time the convoy of Ousmane Sonko, president of the PASTEF party, and opposition leader, on his “Neemeeku Tour” (meet the people tour) has been the victim of unprovoked and illegal attack by members of the Gendarmerie security forces. The tour is designed to meet local supporters in the rural areas and listen to their grievances and has been invariably met by local youth and other supporters coming out to greet and follow theconvoy.

This time it was in the town of Taiba Ndiaye , where Ousmane Sonko was visiting supporters, and was welcomed by local populations, that the forces of "law and order" proved themselves yet again to be the forces of "no-law and disorder".

The unprovoked firing of tear gas at the convoy and at local supporters was not the result of any provocation. It was an entirely legal activity and reminiscent of many other political campaigns carried out by the ruling party without incidence. Ousmane Sonko supporters acted with resilience and refused to be provoked into responding.

In fact the convoy was even attacked when leaving the town. It appears that the main concern of the Police was to prevent the local populations from being seen to show their support for the opposition leader. Despite their best efforts the young people still came out to support the convoy.

It should be remembered that in March the African Union's The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights issued a statement strongly condemning "the excessive use of force by law enforcement officers against civilians". It further went on to remind the Senegalese Authorities of the fact that "freedom of movement and demonstration are guaranteed by Articles 11 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights), as well as the right to a fair trial which includes the respect of the presumption of innocence (Article 7 of the African Charter)." It further called on the "Senegalese authorities to take all necessary measures to restore calm and stability by refraining from the use of force".
https://achpr.au.int/en/news/press-releases/2023-03-16/press-statement-human-rights-situation-senegal

From yesterday's events it would appear these calls fell on deaf ears.

Senegal: Human rights violations on the rise in run up to election

 ARTICLE 19 statement on Human Rights violations in Senegal 05/04/2023

Place de l'independance, Dakar, Senegal. Photo: Rignese /Wikimedia Commons

Summary

This is a follow-up on a shorter statement published on 31 March, and provides further detail and analysis of recent events in Senegal, including protests that have turned violent, authorities’ attempt to prevent protest, and to stifle the freedom of expression of opposition political parties and their supporters.

As Senegal gears up for an election in early 2024, media freedom and the protection of other rights, including the right to protest, have been severely compromised. The country has witnessed a significant deterioration in its media landscape, and journalists have been attacked, naturally hindering their ability to perform their duties without fear. Reports indicate violations of the right to peaceful protest, with citizens being met with excessive force and arbitrary arrests during demonstrations. In addition, political parties are facing a blatant crackdown, and their supporters and members have been arrested and prosecuted across the country. These developments are extremely worrying, as they threaten the democratic process in Senegal and the fundamental rights of the Senegalese people.

 

The right to protest

The right to protest is a fundamental component of a democratic society. It allows citizens to express their grievances and demands, and it can bring attention to important social and political issues. Political parties also play a vital role in democracy, as they represent the diverse interests and views of the public. They provide a platform for citizens to engage with the political process and help to ensure that their voices are heard. Journalists, meanwhile, play a critical role in providing citizens with accurate and impartial information about events and issues affecting their lives. They help to hold those in power accountable and provide a necessary check on abuses of power. It is essential that journalists can operate freely without fear of reprisal or censorship. All of these factors are vital to the functioning of a healthy and vibrant democracy.

Reacting to this tense situation, ARTICLE 19 reiterated its call for de-escalation of violence and respect for fundamental rights, including the exercise of public freedoms and the protection of journalists.

‘ARTICLE 19 calls for de-escalation of violence and violations and concrete measures to protect journalists and their access to information without obstruction. We also call for the release of detained protesters. Public order will certainly be more effectively achieved through respect for the right to peacefully demonstrate, and the state’s protection of protesters, instead of using force and confrontation that reinforces a culture of violence. ARTICLE 19 remains ready to work with institutions and all relevant actors to reform Senegal’s regulations regarding the exercise of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. This will help guarantee the conditions for a civic space that empower citizens to express their opinions in the public space without fear and to fully participate in democratic frameworks in accordance with international human rights standards and norms that Senegal has formally endorsed,’ said Alfred Bulakali, the Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 Senegal and West Africa.

Violent protests and arrests during opposition leader Ousmane Sonko’s trials 

Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has recently been tried for defamation. The trials, which took place on 16 and 30 March, sparked widespread protests in Senegal, which were met with force by the police, leading to the arrest of hundreds of protesters. 

Sonko was convicted in absentia and sentenced to two months’ suspended imprisonment and a fine of two hundred million CFA francs (304,898 euros), exacerbating the tense situation across the country. In addition to the defamation charge, brought after a case was lodged by the minister for tourism, Mame Mbaye Niang, Sonko also faces trial for rape, for which no credible evidence has been put forward. Sonko’s supporters claim the charges are politically motivated. 

On 16 March, Ousmane Sonko was on his way to the defamation trial when his procession was blocked due to a disagreement regarding the route. Tensions increased as police fired tear gas and protesters threw stones. Police officers forcibly removed Ousmane Sonko from his vehicle, and then punched and kicked him before ordering him into a police car to be taken to court. These events exacerbated an already tense situation. Unprecedented violence in several locations across the country followed, with reports of looting and destruction of public and private property.

Violence at the protests quickly escalated, with clashes between protesters and police, leading to injuries and arrests.

Some protesters set fire to government buildings and vehicles, and the government responded with a heavy-handed crackdown. According to both judicial sources and the media, since 16 March, hundreds of protesters have been arrested, including in Saint Louis, Ziguinchor and Dakar. Authorities provided a range of reasons to charge them, including participation in a prohibited gathering, causing damage or destruction to public and private property, and acts likely to compromise public safety. Other reliable data from the national opposition coalition Yewwi Askan Wi also indicate there have been widespread arrests and prosecutions of demonstrators. At least 100 young people are currently in custody at the central police station of Dakar. In other departments around the country, dozens of people have been arrested and referred to police stations, gendarmeries, and prisons.

Recent updates from the prosecutor of Ziguinchor highlighted that ‘since the 16 March  demonstrations, 96 protesters have been referred to the prosecutor’s office. Of these, 64 have been placed in pre-trial detention, while 32 individuals, mainly minors and students, have been released on bail.’

 

Authorities must respect human rights in order to prevent further loss of life 

On 20 March, clashes between law enforcement officials and protesters in the Bignona department resulted in the tragic death of 21-year-old Mamadou Korka, who was reportedly shot in the head. Two others lost their lives during demonstrations in Dakar on 16 March, including a deliveryman struck by a pickup truck and an agent of the mayor’s office of Medina, who was attacked with stones by demonstrators. Both individuals died on Friday, 17 March due to their injuries.

While law enforcement officials have a duty to maintain order and protect citizens, they must also respect the fundamental human rights of people, including the right to assembly and freedom of expression. It is essential that law enforcement officials prioritise the use of non-violent means before resorting to force, and only use such measures when less dangerous means are not practicable and to the minimum extent necessary, in line with international standards – specifically, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials highlight the importance of ensuring that the use of force is always necessary and proportionate. 

‘Security forces must refrain from using force against any peaceful gathering. All protesters who were arrested for exercising their right to protest must be released without being subjected to any kind of violence,’ added Alfred Bulakali.

Attacks on and arrests of journalists

On 30 March, the situation escalated further when several journalists covering the protests were arrested and physically assaulted by police. Security forces fired tear gas at crowds in an attempt to break up a press conference planned by Yewwi Askan Wi, resulting in a woman journalist being injured after being hit by a vehicle during the chaos. Another journalist from Agence France Presse (AFP) was assaulted by security forces while covering a demonstration organised by the opposition. Authorities claimed the rally organisers had failed to secure the required authorisation. AFP condemned the attack and questioned whether Senegalese authorities had truly intended to guarantee a free press and the safety of journalists. 

‘Journalists must be allowed to exercise their work freely and without danger, including when covering demonstrations or public events. Security forces must ensure the protection and safety of journalists at all times. They must refrain from using force against any peaceful gathering,’ added Alfred Nkuru Bulakali.

Targeting of opposition and political activists

According to recent reports, opposition leaders in Senegal have been targeted by the Sûreté Urbaine, a specialist unit dedicated to judicial investigations. The arrests took place in several locations, including Dakar, Kedougou, Kaolack, and Touba in the department of Mbacke. Many of those arrested were members of the political party PASTEF (Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l’éthique et la fraternité), and hold cabinet positions within the party.

The charges brought against the opposition leaders have varied, with most of them facing judicial proceedings for their views on either the Sonko case, the possible candidacy of President Macky Sall for next year’s election, or on public governance. The offences for which they were prosecuted include disturbing the peace, spreading false news, undermining state security, and defamation.

For instance, on 26 March, Dr. Seydou Diallo, the departmental coordinator of Keur Massar and Pastef Yeumbeul Sud, was summoned by the Criminal Investigation Division. Meanwhile, El Malick Ndiaye, the communications officer for PASTEF, was summoned and prosecuted for allegedly sharing false news on 22 March. He was prosecuted after he posted a tweet that claimed an ‘individual dressed in a uniform of the brigade d’intervention polyvalente sprayed Ousmane Sonko with an unknown substance’. He was finally charged, on 27 March, with spreading false news of a nature to discredit institutions, and has since been provisionally released on condition that he wear an electronic tag.

Earlier in March, two political activists, Abdou Karim Gueye and Cheikh Oumar Diagne, were summoned to the Criminal Investigation Division and later placed in custody on charges of ‘calling for insurrection, calling for violence against institutions, and undermining state security’. Following their appearance before a judge on 23 March, they were placed under a warrant of committal for ‘undermining state security’. In addition, the mayor of Keur Massar Sud, Mouhamed Bilal Diatta, has also been placed under a detention order and sent to Rebeuss prison after being prosecuted for ‘calling for insurrection’ and causing ‘offence to the head of state’ after telling young people to engage in acts of resistance.

These arrests have raised concerns among opposition parties parliamentarian Guy Marius Sagna claims that there are currently over 113 political prisoners in Senegal. The targeting of political activists and the use of vague charges to justify their arrest and detention is a worrying development that threatens to undermine democratic values and freedoms in the country.

The recent events in Senegal have highlighted the need to protect the fundamental rights of citizens, including the right to protest, freedom of the press, and freedom of political expression. The targeting of journalists, opposition political activists, and protesters is a cause for concern, and the international community must stand in solidarity with the people of Senegal in their fight for democracy and human rights.

Given the deterioration of media freedom and protection of other rights, including the right to protest, the government of Senegal must take immediate action to ensure that the rights of its citizens are protected. Specifically, the government must:

• Respect the right to protest: The government must respect the right of its citizens to peacefully assemble and express their views without fear of violence or intimidation. Any unnecessary use of force by the security forces should be immediately investigated and held accountable.
• Protect journalists: The government must ensure that journalists are free to do their work without fear of harassment, violence, or arrest. Any attack on journalists or media houses should be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.
• Allow opposition parties to operate: The government should allow opposition parties to operate freely and participate in the political process without intimidation or harassment.
• Stop harassment of and crackdown on opposition leaders and political activists and release all individuals who were arrested for exercising their fundamental right to right to freedom of expression. 

Furthermore, we call upon the international community to closely monitor the situation in Senegal and to speak out in defence of human rights and democratic principles. The government of Senegal must understand that it will be held accountable for any violations of international law or human rights norms.

For more information, please contact:

Maateuw Mbaye, Program Assistant, ARTICLE 19 Senegal/West Africa Email: maateuwmbaye@article19.org   T: +221785958337

Aissata Diallo Dieng, Office Manager, ARTICLE 19 Senegal/West Africa Email: senegal@article19.org   T:+221338690322