Hundreds of Senegalese people demonstrated in Dakar on Friday to demand legal action after numerous irregularities were noted in a report by the Court of Auditors on the management of anti-Covid funds, an AFP journalist observed.
Amid cries of "Thieves!" and "You're not going to get your hands on our billions!", the crowd gathered at Place de la Nation in Dakar at the call of a dozen civil society organizations.
A large police presence was deployed around the square to oversee this gathering, which was authorized by the prefect and supported by the opposition, which has been constantly denouncing the authorities' "theft" in recent days.
In mid-December, an audit by the Court of Auditors of Senegal on the "Covid-19 Response Fund" amounting to more than 740 billion FCFA (more than 1.1 billion euros), financed by donors and the State in 2020 and 2021, pointed to "shortcomings", "overbilling" or even "lack of supporting documentation" for expenses.
Civil society demands the resignation of all those implicated and the reimbursement of the alleged embezzlement.
The government defended itself by pointing out that the reported shortcomings amounted to less than one percent of the total amount of the fund and promised to follow the recommendations of the Court of Auditors.
"Let justice be done. Whether they are party comrades or the president's brothers-in-law, all those who embezzled the funds must be tried as soon as possible," Alioune Tine, founder of Afrikajom center and a figure in civil society, proclaimed from the podium.
"I am here to denounce the impunity and bias of the justice system. I am outraged to see that our leaders embezzled our billions when we were between life and death," protested Papis Diatta, a 35-year-old demonstrator.
The slogan "No to a 3rd term" appeared on several placards, due to the doubt that persists on the decision of President Macky Sall, elected in 2012 for seven years and re-elected in 2019 for five years, to run again in the 2024 presidential election.
The protesters also chanted the name and called for the release of Pape Alé Niang, a journalist detained for more than a month for "disclosing information likely to harm national defense", who was released and then sent back into custody on December 20.
