Controversy erupts as former Senegal president Macky Sall returns to Dakar
Breaking news. The anticipated return of former Senegalese president Macky Sall to Dakar on Friday, July 17, for a meeting with current president Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has ignited fierce public debate.
This visit, marking his first return since departing office in April 2024, arrives amid mounting calls for accountability for the victims of state repression during the 2021-2024 protest period.
The return of Macky Sall to Senegalese soil has sharply divided public opinion. A collective advocating for justice for victims of the 2021-2024 crackdown condemned the visit as “an affront to dignity”, demanding full investigations into the “dozens of deaths” reported during anti-government demonstrations.
Boubacar Sèye, spokesperson for the collective, stated: “The timing of this visit, coinciding with unaddressed wounds of repression, is simply unacceptable. We demand truth and justice for the families who lost loved ones.”
Political tensions flare over state reception
Guy Marius Sagna, a lawmaker aligned with the ruling coalition, echoed these sentiments, calling the planned reception of the former president “a direct insult to victims’ families and political detainees.”
Meanwhile, supporters of Macky Sall’s former party, Alliance for the Republic (APR), have organized large-scale welcome events in Dakar. According to social media statements from the former president, his meeting with Bassirou Diomaye Faye will be brief, with Sall departing “immediately after” the discussion.
UN leadership bid casts shadow over visit
Sall’s return occurs as his candidacy for UN Secretary-General gains momentum, endorsed by Burundi during its African Union presidency rather than by Senegal itself.
The Senegalese presidency has yet to comment on the meeting. However, Armed Forces Minister Yankhoba Diémé emphasized the visit’s “ordinary nature”, asserting that Sall “faces no legal proceedings or convictions”.