Senegal’s ex-president Macky Sall, who is campaigning to become the next UN secretary-general, arrived in Dakar Friday for a brief meeting with his successor, a visit criticised by the former leader’s detractors.
News
The trip marks the first time that Sall, who led the nation between 2012 and 2024, has returned to the west African country since leaving office in April 2024.
More than 1,000 supporters turned out in the heat to welcome him mid-afternoon at a military airport in Dakar, where he greeted the crowd from atop a vehicle.
Noisy throngs of supporters then flocked towards the presidential palace downtown as he arrived for his visit, cheering and honking loudly from motorbikes.
Details
Sall’s party, the APR, which he still leads, had invited his supporters to come out to welcome him.
Sall stands accused by the current government of violent political repression during his last years in office that led to dozens of deaths and of covering up unfavourable economic data.
The meeting granted by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sparked controversy within his own camp, which has been divided since he dismissed prime minister Ousmane Sonko, once a staunch ally.
Analysis
Following Faye’s falling out with Sonko, he may be seeking political support from new quarters. Sonko and Sall are arch-rivals.
One of Faye’s political advisors, Alioune Ibnou Abitalib Sow, announced his resignation on Friday in protest at the visit.
“He is responsible for a large part of the troubles the country is facing today,” Sow posted on X.
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