Corruption trial of leading Senegalese mayor likely to weaken ruling coalition at polls and increase violent protests

Senegalese president Macky Sall, pictured in Nigeria in May 2014, is being accused by opponents of using the judiciary to sideline political rivals.

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Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall was remanded in custody on 17 March after his first appearance before a judge to answer charges related to his alleged misappropriation of 1.83 billion West African CFA francs (USD2.85 million) from city funds in 2011–15. Sall insisted he would not be seeking bail, and has been taken to the same VIP cell in the city's Rebeuss prison formerly occupied by Karim Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, when he was imprisoned in 2013–16 on corruption charges. Sall has been charged with fraud and misappropriation involving public funds, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering after allegedly using fake invoices for rice and millet – supposedly destined to feed poor city dwellers – to repeatedly obtain the maximum XOF30 million made available each month in a caisse d'avance (petty funds) account.

Sall has been imprisoned with five of his staff, including Dakar administrative and financial director Mbaye Touré, who is also the manager of the city's caisse d'avance and has reportedly admitted the invoices were false. However, Touré's and Sall's lawyers say this has long been considered an accepted practice in using a fund that has existed since 1920, and which mirrors similar schemes and practices used by mayors across the country. It cuts down on paperwork for a fund which is meant to give mayors readily accessible cash for costs relating to official ceremonies, inaugurations and receptions organised by the city, emergency relief, and basic food and health provision. Sall has also called it a "political" fund, which he needs no authorisation to access. Otherwise, budgetary requests in Senegal's highly bureaucratic system can take anywhere between one and six months to be approved. However, government lawyers say Sall has never provided any subsequent justification for his spending, as other mayors usually do.

Lawyers for Sall have repeatedly stated that the arrest and detention are to stop his "political ambitions". If he remains incarcerated before his trial, Sall will have restricted involvement in preparations for legislative elections on 30 July. Although not directly implicated, because municipal elections are held separately, Sall had been the driving force behind attempts to draw up a united opposition list, or at least to broker agreements to join forces in particular constituencies against the ruling United in Hope (Benno Bokk Yakaar: BBY) coalition of President Macky Sall – no relation. Although he represents the Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste: PS) – one of the key members of BBY – Khalifa Sall has been considered a maverick by his party since at least 2014, when he fielded his own slate of candidates in city elections that saw him win a second term as Dakar mayor. He is in conflict with PS leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng, who would want to stand as the party's official candidate for president in 2019. Khalifa Sall also campaigned strongly for a no vote on President Sall's constitutional referendum in March 2016 (see Senegal: 25 March 2016: Unconvincing constitutional referendum result likely to undermine coalition support for Senegalese president and cause legislative delays). Khalifa Sall has long been considered as the most likely candidate to prevent Macky Sall from winning a second presidential term in 2019.

Outlook and implications

Although the Senegalese judiciary is nominally independent, it has shown a tendency in recent years to toe the official line on controversial subjects, most notoriously when the Constitutional Council ruled in early 2012 that Abdoulaye Wade could stand for a third term. He was comprehensively beaten by Macky Sall, who himself has been accused of mobilising the judiciary for political ends, particularly in jailing Wade junior, and launching corruption investigations against former ministers from the Senegalese Democratic Party (Parti DémocratiqueSénégalais: PDS) and even his own ex-prime minister Abdoul Mbaye.

Accusations of judicial interference have increased in the past few months, however, as Khalifa Sall and fellow dissident PS mayors in Dakar communes have been targeted. In January 2017, corruption investigations over a missing XOF500 million (USD780,000) were launched against Medina district mayor Bamba Fall and eight of his associates. The following month, Mermoz Sacré-Coeur mayor Barthélémy Dias was sentenced to six months in prison and a further 18 months suspended for having shot dead one of a crowd attempting to break into the town hall in December 2011. Now Khalifa Sall is in custody, and he told his supporters, the day before he was taken in, to prepare for a "political battle" and warned the presidential camp that "all the blows received would be returned in kind".

Although BBY supporters would maintain that corruption cases are the logical consequence of Macky Sall's pre-election pledge to tackle the issue, the timing of the latest case is coincidental, and that Khalifa Sall clearly has a case to answer, his pursuit runs serious political risks for the government and President Sall, and risks provoking violent protests. The case against Khalifa Sall looks weak and politically motivated as he is being indicted for a practice commonly used by previous Dakar mayors, and across the country. There is also no suggestion currently that he used the funds for personal enrichment. In fact, he remains an immensely popular figure in Dakar for improvements in health, social services, and flood defence that he has instituted. Khalifa Sall is also a leading figure in several international Francophone organisations, which have issued statements expressing concern about the case against him. Perhaps most importantly, a number of Senegal's influential religious brotherhoods have spoken out in support of Khalifa Sall, and they have the power to mobilise thousands of followers.

The former ruling PDS tried to turn Karim Wade into a cause célèbre but were undermined by his lack of populist appeal and general doubts over his innocence. Khalifa Sall, however, has the strong potential to become a figure around whom both the opposition and powerful civil society groups will coalesce ahead of the legislative elections, in particular. Success in portraying him as a political victim will weaken the fragile BBY coalition, which is certain in any case to lose many of the 119 seats it currently holds in the National Assembly because it faced so little opposition in 2012. Further appearances by Khalifa Sall in court will bring large supportive demonstrations in the vicinity of Rebeuss near the coastal Route de la Corniche, and also around traditional protest sites at the Place de l'Indépendance and Place de l'Obélisque near Dakar's main N1 route. This will cause severe disruption to cargo lasting several hours, and also increase death and injury risks with security forces likely to break up protests by force.