‘We are at crossroads’: Tension builds in Senegal amid election delay | Elections

Dakar, Senegal – Plateau, the downtown Dakar neighbourhood that is home to the country’s National Assembly, was tense but quiet on Monday morning. Inside parliament, the assembly was anything but.

Lawmakers were debating on President Macky Sall’s announcement to postpone general elections – originally scheduled for February 25 – for an additional six months.

The announcement has left Fatou Djibril Ndour, 29, in disbelief.

“I am among the people who voted [for] Macky Sall in 2012 and 2019, but I regret. This is not good for a country,” the waitress at a restaurant in the nearby neighbourhood of Ouakam, tells Al Jazeera.

The decision to delay the vote has been controversial and has ignited protests in the capital, and put the police on high alert. The police fired tear gas at opposition supporters on Sunday and beat some with batons.

On Monday, the gendarmerie, or state police, showed up in numbers. Dozens of them in riot gear lined the streets throughout the capital, with some helping disperse a smaller rally outside parliament.

Anta Sarr, 31, a shopkeeper in Ouakam, says the heightened police presence is slowing down business. “I struggle to feed my family, and now, because of just a few people, our clients are afraid to go out,” he says.

Earlier in the day, police tear-gassed protesters and opposition supporters who gathered near the National Assembly. There have also been reports of arrests and intimidation by police.

The right to peacefully protest is guaranteed in the constitution, but the police are disbanding protests before they begin. Journalists say police have prevented them from filming, and law enforcement has threatened to confiscate equipment.

The Ministry of Communication also shut down cellular internet citing security concerns.

“Dear customers,” read a text from phone provider Orange, “By decision of the state, mobile internet is suspended by all operators.”

International watchdog Human Rights Watch warned actions like this are part of a crackdown on opposition, media and civil society.

‘We are at crossroads’

Against this backdrop, customers sat for afternoon coffee at a stand near the National Assembly, discussing events happening just down the street in hushed tones.

“It’s not normal that just one person is making a violation of the constitution,” says bystander Charles Leon Faye.

“[Sall] is not the right person to make these kinds of decisions,” he says. “Senegalese people must organise themselves. We need to organise ourselves to save our country [and] also to try to find a solution to solve these problems.”

It is a critical moment for the country, says political analyst Ibrahima Kane.

“We are at crossroads,” he tells Al Jazeera over the phone. “Either we stop this initiative coming from politicians who always want to overrule, or the constitution will not have any value.”

The television audio from the parliamentary proceedings can be heard through the telephone. Kane has been glued to the screen all day. His phone has been buzzing with people keen to get his take on the vote in parliament.

“You know, our political system is just going from bad to worse,” he says.

“Any idea of postponement is unconstitutional. The constitution forbids any changes on the duration of the term, to reduce it, or to expand it – it’s not possible.”

In a shop near Dakar’s Mamelle neighbourhood, Cherif Coly looks up at the store’s television with a grin. The live broadcast of parliamentary proceedings is under way. The arguments have gripped both staff and customers.

But the 32-year-old, a crew member at Blaise Diagne International Airport is optimistic.

“This is good,” he says. “President Macky Sall wants to postpone the election so that everyone can participate,” he says. “There were 41 [candidates] who were not allowed [on the ballot]. If the elections are postponed, they will be able to participate.”

Coly wants more people on the ballot, including opposition candidates.

Senegalese gendarmes patrol a road during demonstrations called by the opposition parties in Dakar on February 4, 2024, to protest against the postponement of the presidential election [John Wessels/AFP]

An inflexion point

Last month, the country’s constitutional council released a final list of electoral candidates that excluded opposition leaders Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

The final list includes Bassirou Diomaye Faye who was nominated by Sonko, as well as Prime Minister Amadou Ba, who is endorsed by President Sall. 

Dakar’s former mayor, Khalifa Sall – who has no relation to Macky Sall –  is also on the ballot.

Wade served as a minister during his father’s tenure as head of state. The younger Wade was sentenced to six years in prison in 2012 for corruption charges, fined $230m, and was accused of embezzling just as much. He has denied those allegations, dismissing them as politically motivated. 

In 2016, after serving half of his sentence, he was granted a presidential pardon.

The politician, who possessed dual Senegalese French citizenship, denounced his second nationality last month to make him eligible to run for office. Senegal’s constitutional court, however, said he was a dual citizen when he submitted his paperwork, rendering him unqualified to run for office.

Coly hopes that a delay could give time for others to join the ballot. He is willing to wait, he says, so that the voters can choose the best candidate.

“These elections are very special because we have gas, we have petrol, we have other resources here in Senegal,” he says. He wants a president who can manage those resources as well as the country’s finances.

“If the president is not strong enough, people will lose [these resources],” he adds. “If you look at countries with natural resources, you have war there. These countries are not stable, so we need a president who is going to fight for the national resources because it belongs to all Senegalese.”

Senegal is often touted as a beacon of peace and stability in the region. But now, that legacy is in the hands of lawmakers who have brought Senegal to an inflexion point, says Kane.

“Politicians are also citizens of the country. They are not above the constitution, particularly the President of the Republic, who is the guarantor of the implementation of the constitution.”

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Senegal parliament delays election to December 15 after chaotic vote | Elections News

Senegal’s parliament has voted to delay the presidential election to December 15 in a chaotic vote that took place after opposition lawmakers were forcibly removed from the chamber as they debated President Macky Sall’s earlier decision to delay the crucial election.

Sall announced on Saturday that the election, which was scheduled for February 25, would be postponed, pitching the West African nation into uncharted constitutional waters, and triggering violent protests.

Parliamentary backing came late on Monday when 105 MPs in the 165-seat assembly voted in favour of the measure, which delays the election until December and keeps Sall in office until his successor is installed.

The bill initially set an election date on August 25, and the move to delay the poll even further is likely to risk more unrest. The president, who has served the maximum two terms, was originally due to leave office on April 2.

Sall has said previously he has no plans to extend his term, but protesters are sceptical.

As the lawmakers debated the bill on Monday, security forces fired tear gas at protesters who had gathered outside the parliament in Dakar, burning tyres and criticising Sall.

Demonstrator Malick Diouf, 37, said he had no preferred candidate and did not even have a voting card, but felt it was crucial to come out and protest.

“The main thing for me is to say ‘no’ to this political agenda, this coup de force to try to stay in power,” he told the AFP news agency.

Security was tight around the National Assembly in Dakar [Sylvain Cherkaoui/AP Photo]

Opposition leaders had condemned the proposed delay, announced just as campaigning was due to start, as a “constitutional coup” and an assault on democracy.

The mood in parliament was also tense with some deputies shoving and pushing one another, leading to a temporary recess.

Security forces later stormed the building and forcibly removed several opposition lawmakers who had occupied the central dais and were trying to block the voting process.

“What you are doing is not democratic, it’s not republican,” said Guy Marius Sagna, who was one of several rebel MPs wearing a sash in the colours of the Senegalese flag.

Democracy at risk

The postponement faced strong pushback elsewhere on Monday. At least three of the 20 presidential candidates submitted legal challenges to the delay, Constitutional Council documents showed. Two more candidates have pledged to challenge it via the courts.

Authorities temporarily restricted mobile internet access from Sunday night, citing hate messages on social media and threats to public order. Several schools sent pupils home early.

The private Walf television channel said it was taken off air on Sunday and had its licence revoked.

“Senegal has been known as a country with a strong democracy but this is no longer the case,” one protester who only gave his first name, Dame, told Reuters. “The only thing we want is a fair election.”

He said he was worried Sall would cling on to power indefinitely.

The chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, urged Senegal to resolve its “political dispute through consultation, understanding and dialogue”.

Human Rights Watch warned that Senegal risked losing its democratic credentials.

“Senegal has long been considered a beacon of democracy in the region. This is now at risk,” it said in a statement.

“Authorities need to act to prevent violence, rein in abusive security forces, and end their assault on opposition and media. They should respect freedom of speech, expression and assembly, and restore internet, putting Senegal back on its democratic course.”

The crisis has led to fears of the kind of violent unrest that broke out in March 2021 and June 2023, which resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests.

Sall said he delayed the election due to a dispute over the candidate list and alleged corruption within the constitutional body that handled the list.

The opposition Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), whose candidate was barred from running because of dual nationality issues, supports the delay and proposed the postponement bill in parliament before Sall’s announcement.

The bill passed due to backing by the ruling party and the opposition coalition, which includes PDS.

Other opposition and civil society groups have angrily rejected it, with some saying Sall is trying to postpone his departure. The F24 platform, a large group of organisations behind past demonstrations, and candidate Khalifa Sall, have called it an “institutional coup”.

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Is Senegal heading for political turmoil? | TV Shows

Protests erupt in Senegal after the president indefinitely postpones elections.

Senegalese President Macky Sall made a surprise announcement on Saturday – indefinitely postponing elections scheduled this month.

He cited controversy surrounding the disqualification of some presidential candidates.

The opposition has accused Sall of trying to cling to power, and protests have taken place in the capital, Dakar.

Senegal is viewed by many as the continent’s most stable democracy and a rare pillar of stability in West Africa, where its neighbours have faced coups and civil wars.

Sall says he’s not going to run for a third term.

But with no new date for the presidential election, what’s next for Senegal ?

Presenter: Nastasya Tay

Guests:

Ndongo Samba Sylla – development economist and head of research and policy at International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs)

Aliou Sow – minister of culture and historical heritage of Senegal

Alexis Akwagyiram – managing editor of Semafor

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Arrests within hundreds of Senegalese protestors after election postponed | Government

NewsFeed

After Senegalese President Macky Sall postponed the presidential vote, hundreds of Senegalese demonstrators gathered in Dakar to protest. Police threw tear gas as several demonstrators were arrested.

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Senegal parliament to vote on election delay and Sall tenure extension | Politics News

The Senegalese parlimaentary session comes in the wake of deadly protests and internet cuts in parts of the country.

Senegal’s parliament is meeting to consider the postponement of presidential elections announced by President Macky Sall, a move that has plunged the country into crisis.

Monday’s session is happening after a day of violent street protests in the capital Dakar – during which at least one senior opposition figure was arrested – and growing international concern.

Lawmakers are voting on a proposal to postpone the presidential poll – previously set for February 25 – for up to six months. The text before them will need the support of three-fifths of the 165-seat parliament to pass.

Sall’s announcement of a delay on Saturday has since set off a chain of events in the West African country.

On Sunday, the government ordered a private television broadcaster off the air for “incitement to violence” over its coverage of the protests, another sign of the mounting political tension in the country. There were also local reports on Monday of mobile internet coverage being cut and restriction of motorcycle movements in Dakar, even as security has been reinforced in the capital.

Opposition leaders have used the term “constitutional coup” to describe the current situation, which they say is an assault on democracy.

Sall said he delayed the vote because of a dispute between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court over the rejection of candidates.

“I will begin an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent, and inclusive election,” he added, without giving a new date.

The dispute Sall blamed for the delay to the election arose out of the decision by the Constitutional Court to exclude Karim Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, from running for the presidency.

He was barred because he allegedly also holds French citizenship – a decision he denounced as “scandalous”.

Wade’s supporters in the National Assembly called for a parliamentary inquiry into the partiality of two judges on the Constitutional Court.

Some members of Sall’s party were among those who voted for its passage on January 30.

Sall, who last year ruled out running for a controversial third term, had designated Prime Minister Amadou Ba from his party as his would-be successor. But with the party split over his candidacy, Ba faced possible defeat at the ballot box.

Wade is not the only candidate the Constitutional Court has excluded from the vote.

Also barred from running is firebrand anti-establishment figure Ousmane Sonko, who has been jailed since July 2023.

His surrogate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has been approved to run and emerged as a credible contender to win – a nightmare scenario for the president’s camp.

Reactions

The international community has reacted with concern to Sall’s decision to put off the vote.

The chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, urged Senegal to resolve its “political dispute through consultation, understanding and dialogue”.

Faki called on the authorities to “organise the elections as quickly as possible, in transparency, in peace and national harmony” in a post on Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The United States, European Union, and former colonial ruler France have also appealed for the vote to be rescheduled as soon as possible.

It is the first time since 1963 that a presidential vote has been postponed in Senegal, one of the few African countries never to have experienced a coup.

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EU: Postponed Senegal election opens ‘period of uncertainty’ | Elections News

The postponement of Senegal’s presidential election opens a “period of uncertainty”, the European Union has said, and the United States called for a swift new date for free polls ahead of opposition protests in the capital, Dakar, that were dispersed by police.

“The European Union … calls on all actors to work … for the staging of a transparent, inclusive and credible election as soon as possible,” EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali said in a statement on Sunday.

On Saturday, Senegal’s President Macky Sall indefinitely postponed the election scheduled for February 25.

In a televised address to the nation, Sall announced he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list.

He said he signed a decree abolishing a November 2023 measure that had set the original election date, but did not give a new date.

Last month, Senegal’s Constitutional Council excluded some prominent opposition members from the list of candidates.

France, the former colonial power in the country, called for a vote “as soon as possible”, saying that Senegal should end “uncertainty”.

“We call on authorities to end the uncertainty about the electoral calendar so the vote can be held as soon as possible, under the rules of Senegalese democracy,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

Opposition presidential candidates said they would launch their campaigns in defiance of the postponement.

Senegal has traditionally been seen as a rare example of democratic stability in West Africa, which has been hit by a series of coups in recent years including in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Tear gas fired at protesters

Police fired tear gas to disperse opposition supporters in Dakar on Sunday, in the first clashes after Sall’s announcement, the AFP news agency reported.

Men and women who were waving Senegalese flags or wearing the jersey of the national football team had converged at a roundabout on one of the capital’s main roads at the call of a number of opposition candidates.

Police then pursued the fleeing protesters into surrounding neighbourhoods, with some in the crowd hurling rocks at the officers.

Reporting from the outskirts of Dakar, Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque said all 19 opposition candidates had asked their supporters to gather in the area.

“There’s a sense that the security forces do not want any gathering. But for the members of the opposition, until the decree [cancelling the elections] is published … then [it] is not in place,” Haque said.

“Some of the opposition figures that I spoke to said it’s a ploy for him to cling onto power, others describe it as a constitutional coup.

“A motorcyclist … shouted: ‘We’re going to burn everything down’. From every protester that we spoke to, they feel angry at that decision; they feel robbed of their ability to express themselves in this election cancelled by Sall.”

Some 200 protesters blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare in Dakar with a makeshift barricade of burning tyres, the Reuters news agency reported.

Further protests are planned outside parliament on Monday.

Senegalese riot police lobs tear gas at supporters of opposition presidential candidate Daouda Ndiaye, in Dakar, Senegal [Stefan Kleinowitz/AP Photo]

‘Inclusive and credible elections’

The US Department of State noted Senegal’s “strong tradition of democracy and peaceful transitions of power” and urged “all participants in [the] electoral process to engage peacefully to swiftly set a new date and the conditions for a timely, free and fair election”.

Senegalese politicians must “prioritise dialogue and collaboration for transparent, inclusive and credible elections”, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc said in a statement that called on authorities to “expedite the various processes to set a new date for the elections”.

Opponents suspect that the president’s camp fear the defeat of his anointed successor, Prime Minister Amadou Ba.

Senegal cannot “indulge in a fresh crisis” after deadly political violence in March 2021 and June 2023, Sall said on Saturday as he announced a “national dialogue” to organise “a free, transparent and inclusive election”.

The country’s electoral code states that at least 80 days must pass between the announcement of a new presidential vote and polling day – theoretically putting the soonest possible new date in late April at the earliest.

Sall’s presidential term is supposed to end on April 2.

Analysts say the crisis is putting one of Africa’s most stable democracies to the test at a time when the region is struggling with the recent surge in coups.

Senegal has been embroiled in political tensions as a result of deadly clashes involving opposition supporters and the disqualification of two opposition leaders ahead of the crucial vote.

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‘Conflict tinder’: Gambian traffickers continue timber trade despite ban | Environment

Banjul, The Gambia — On a warm May day at a restaurant on the outskirts of Banjul, Lamin (last name withheld) outlined his plan to traffic rosewood timber from Senegal to The Gambia as he cleaned the meat off his chicken drumsticks.

“All of this has to be secret,” he whispered, trying to be reassuring about his almost decade-long experience in the illicit trade.

“Things have got more difficult recently, but it’s not impossible if you have the right contacts.”

For decades, timber has been smuggled by men like him from southern Senegal’s Casamance region into The Gambia to then be shipped to China. One of the most sought-after species is rosewood. Scientifically known as pterocarpus erinaceus, the crimson-coloured timber is in high demand by Chinese furniture manufacturers.

In 2012, the West African rosewood tree was officially classified as being on the brink of extinction in The Gambia. But the country, along with neighbouring Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, has continued to be among the primary suppliers of this species to China.

Since June 2022, there has been a regional ban on felling, transporting and exporting timber by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Gambian government also instituted a ban that same year, but traffickers said they continue to work with Chinese businesspeople to smuggle the precious timber out of Casamance.

From 2017 to 2022 alone, China imported more than 3 million tonnes of rosewood worth at least $2bn from West Africa, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), an international NGO.

Al Jazeera spoke to traffickers in The Gambia, posing as investors interested in getting involved in the timber trade. The traffickers revealed that the trade is still well under way and said 200 containers loaded with the timber sat in Banjul’s port, awaiting shipment to China. When reached for comment, the Gambian government said it was unaware of the presence of such containers.

Smugglers in Banjul showed Al Jazeera video footage of people loading rosewood logs onto a ship, saying it was a private vessel used exclusively for rosewood timber exports to China. According to Lamin, a container holds 80 to 90 logs, depending on their size. The older they are, the bigger the circumference and the more valuable they are. A full container can fetch more than $15,000. According to Lamin, traffickers like him can get up to $1,000 per container.

The process of exporting timber through Banjul’s port has become more difficult, according to the traffickers, who said obtaining export permits from authorities is no longer as easy as it was before. Private shipping lines, which used to be the main method of transport to China, stopped shipping timber in 2020.

“There is no way at the seaport yet,” admitted Secka, one of Lamin’s superiors, “but if you are getting into timber trafficking, you are supposed to have proper contacts in place.”

According to them, well-placed contacts within the port authority facilitate export procedures, which include permits and the deposit of containers, as do the police, who can greenlight the release of seized containers in exchange for what Lamin calls “tips”. Al Jazeera contacted the port authority and Gambian police but did not receive a response.

“You need to know people in the system, a backup in case you get caught,” Secka said, suggesting that authorities are heavily involved in the trafficking.

Sawed logs lie on the floor of a depot used by traffickers and exporters in Banjul, The Gambia [Andrei Popoviciu/Al Jazeera]

From Gambia to China

Accompanied by Lamin, Al Jazeera visited two depots in Banjul and its suburbs, both allegedly owned by Chinese businesspeople stacking the rosewood timber until they manage to export it to China.

One depot was filled with timber while another was empty. At the second location, several empty containers were stored, ready to be loaded with timber, while rosewood scraps lay scattered on the ground next to them.

“I need to operate far from the city. Here it’s quiet,” Lamin said.

Al Jazeera showed photos of the timber and the scraps found at the two locations to experts who said, “They very much look like pterocarpus erinaceus.” Satellite imagery also confirmed that logs have been stacked at the two locations over the past seven years. As the trafficker left one of the depots, a police officer jokingly inquired about the whereabouts of his timber.

When contacted about the findings, the Gambian Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources said it was unaware of containers with rosewood timber to be shipped to China.

A spokesperson added that “no permit to export rosewood has been issued to any institution of the government of The Gambia” and the ministry is not aware “of 1 cubic centimetre of rosewood entering the country”. The CITES Secretariat in Geneva declined to answer questions, citing “limited staff capacity”.

But an October 2023 report by the Washington, DC-based EIA confirms Al Jazeera’s findings. An analysis of trade data showed that the 2022 ban on rosewood trade has slowed it down but has not stopped it.

The report noted that the ban “appeared to trigger a rush for exports, in violation of the provisional suspension that had already been in force for three months prior to this notification”, pointing out that in July and August of that year, China imported more than 15,000 metric tonnes of rosewood from The Gambia.

Romain Taravella, an investigator with the EIA, was part of a team whose research on rosewood trafficking in The Gambia prompted CITES to adopt the regional ban — the strictest so far. The EIA investigation reported that from 2012 to 2020, 1.6 million trees were illegally harvested in Casamance and smuggled into The Gambia.

“[The Gambia has] never been a supporter of this regional ban nor a country that was acknowledging the need to have a ban,” Taravella told Al Jazeera. The EIA report also accused senior officials in the government of having been involved with trafficking during that time.

Prior to the ban, the EIA uncovered a well-organised system of misdeclaring timber in ports with traffickers falsely labelling the containers as peanuts or metal scraps. However, once the containers arrived in China, they were frequently declared as rosewood in import data.

Private shipping lines were the ones previously moving the timber to China. When the companies ceased such deliveries, Taravella noticed that the trade continued even after the ban came into effect, indicating the traffickers quickly adapted and found alternative routes.

“This means the system was very much well-oiled since before the ban,” Taravella said.

Rosewood import data from China from 2018 to 2023 obtained by Al Jazeera showed a 43 percent increase in rosewood imports from The Gambia in September last year, compared with the same month of the previous year and a 58 percent increase from pre-pandemic levels for the same month.

The CITES ban specifically prohibits the exportation and importation of rosewood timber, which essentially bans China from accepting rosewood imports. Al Jazeera reached out to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment but got no response.

‘Conflict tinder’

Most of the trafficked rosewood comes from the lush, green Casamance region.

For the Indigenous peoples of Casamance, the region’s trees — particularly its rosewood — are considered sacred. Haidar el Ali, Senegal’s former environment minister and one of Africa’s best-known conservationists, lives in Casamance and has dedicated his retirement to preserving its forests.

“The traffic still happens towards The Gambia, but there’s less rosewood now than before,” Ali said, explaining that the rosewood stock in Casamance’s border areas with The Gambia has been dwindling.

For more than four decades, a low-intensity conflict between the Senegalese government and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) has plagued the region, making it the longest-running conflict on the continent.

The MCDF rebels have been fighting the Senegalese army for independence. The region – which is culturally, linguistically, and ethnically distinct from the rest of Senegal – was added to the country’s territory after independence from France in 1960.

Border villages in The Gambia like Ballen are full of refugees who fled Casamance decades ago. Most of these villages are made up of Casamancese refugees and Gambian locals, only different by nationality but not by ethnicity or language.

In the Gambian village of Kayanga, Fatou Camara was sitting in her house one day in April last year around lunchtime when a bullet penetrated a wall and ricocheted into her bedroom as gunfire was heard in the distance.

“We’ve been living this nightmare for over 40 years,” Fatou said, adding that last year was “more intense” than the year before. She doesn’t know if the bullet belonged to the Senegalese army or the rebels.

Local reports have said the illegal timber trade is a principal source of income for the Casamance rebels, funding the rebellion and earning rosewood the name of “conflict tinder” by the EIA and Geneva-based TRIAL International.

Most of the trafficked rosewood comes from the Casamance region in southern Senegal, where a secessionist conflict has been going on for decades [Andrei Popoviciu/Al Jazeera]

Dubious arrangements

Despite its impact on continuing the rebellion and terrifying the border population, the trafficking of rosewood has long benefitted from dubious arrangements with people in high places.

Under the two-decade tenure of The Gambia’s former leader Yahya Jammeh, the illegal trade with China as well as trafficking from Casamance reached its peak. During his tenure, Jammeh allegedly exploited the country’s resources, evaded taxes and directly funded MFDC rebels through his company Westwood Gambia.

Westwood was the only timber company licensed for exports from 2014 to 2017, reportedly playing a major role in the illegal rosewood trade.

Jammeh was ousted from power in 2017. A year later, a special commission set up by the new administration conducted an investigation into his assets, which revealed that Westwood’s monopoly on timber exports to China generated more than $45m in revenue during its three years of operation.

The commission also uncovered that Jammeh looted at least $363m in public funds and illicit timber revenue, but the real amount is believed to be closer to $1bn. To this day, neither Westwood nor Jammeh and his partners have faced any criminal penalties in The Gambia. Jammeh escaped to Equatorial Guinea after losing the 2017 election and now lives there in self-imposed exile.

TRIAL International has lodged a case with the Swiss attorney general accusing Jammeh’s partner, Romanian-Swiss businessman Nicolae Buzaianu, of committing the war crime of pillage.

The charge covers his alleged role in funding the rebellion in Casamance and exploiting Senegal’s resources for personal gain. The Swiss attorney general’s office announced in 2022 that it had opened an investigation into Buzaianu’s dealings in The Gambia, even requesting legal assistance from the Gambian government.

But when Al Jazeera asked about the status of the investigation, the attorney general’s spokesperson said there are no current proceedings against a Swiss citizen in that context, not clarifying whether the official investigation is yet to begin or has been scrapped.

If the case were to proceed, it would mark a significant milestone in international law because there is no previous instance of a conviction for the war crime of pillage. In the meantime, Senegal’s endangered rosewood continues to be trafficked into The Gambia with the perpetrators escaping accountability.

“We are being robbed of our future in broad daylight, and we are watching it happen,” said Kemo Fatty, leader of the advocacy group Green Up Gambia.

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Senegal top court rejects opposition leader Sonko’s appeal in libel case | Politics News

Ruling could jeopardise popular politician’s chances of running in February’s presidential elections.

Senegal’s Supreme Court has ruled against opposition politician Ousmane Sonko’s appeal in his defamation conviction, a decision that puts his chances of running in presidential elections at risk.

“The sentence and fines have been confirmed. Sonko lost on all counts,” state lawyer El Hadji Diouf said on Friday after the judge ruled to uphold the six-month suspended sentence following a more than 12-hour hearing.

He added that Sonko was “now totally banned from taking part in an election”. The 49-year-old had filed his candidacy papers last month, while in custody, to compete in the February 25 elections.

Sonko has been in jail since July after his arrest on insurrection charges, when he was also struck off the country’s electoral rolls.

He has faced multiple court cases over the past two years for charges including libel and rape, which he denies. The cases against him have triggered deadly violence in the West African nation.

After deliberations that extended from Thursday into the early hours of Friday, the court rejected Sonko’s appeal against the May conviction. According to Senegalese law, Sonko cannot compete in the presidential race while such a conviction is upheld.

His legal team, however, said the setback was not final. “The fight will continue,” his lawyer Cire Cledor Ly told reporters outside the court building in the capital, Dakar.

Sonko’s legal troubles began when he was accused of rape in 2021, sparking deadly unrest across the country that has since flared up sporadically over various court decisions.

He denies any wrongdoing and says all charges against him are politically motivated. The government, which accuses Sonko of stoking violence, dissolved his Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) party in July.

“No one doubts the political aspect of this affair which aims to eliminate the leader of the opposition,” said PASTEF spokesperson El Malick Ndiaye on the latest ruling. “Sonko still remains in the race,” he said on national radio.

Sonko placed third in Senegal’s 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country’s youth. His supporters maintain the charges against him are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in this year’s polls.

He is seen as a main opposition challenger in the race to succeed President Macky Sall, who announced in July that he would not seek a controversial third mandate following months of ambiguity and speculation about his intentions.

In December, a court in the southern city of Zinguichor, where Sonko is mayor, ordered that he be reinstated on the electoral register.

The electoral commission is reviewing applications and is scheduled to publish a final list of cleared presidential candidates by January 20.

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Patrice Evra: ‘Not a victim, but a survivor’ of sexual abuse | Football

The former French footballer discusses his journey to stardom, battling racism and overcoming sexual abuse.

Born in Senegal and raised in France, Patrice Evra rose to fame playing for Manchester United and Juventus, facing racism on and off the pitch.

Later in his career, Evra revealed that he was sexually abused as a child by a schoolteacher, a secret he kept for 25 years.

Now retired from football, he speaks out against child sexual abuse as a UN ambassador and uses his social media presence to fight racism in sports.

Evra has also ventured into technology investments, participating in the Web Summit in Lisbon, where we caught up with him.

Patrice Evra talks to Al Jazeera.

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