Three years after the first casualties of the “repression of political protests,” the CartograFreeSenegal collective has released a report tallying 65 deaths, predominantly from gunfire.
Cheikh Coly, a 20-year-old student in Bignona, southern Senegal, fell in March 2021 to a bullet through the heart—the first victim of the deadliest wave of political repression the country has seen in 60 years. The protests erupted in support of Ousmane Sonko, now Prime Minister but then the leading opponent of Macky Sall’s regime (2012-2024) and a native of the south.
Over the next three years, 64 more individuals lost their lives, 51 by bullets, according to a Tuesday report from CartograFreeSenegal. The collective aims to humanise victims often reduced to mere statistics. Meanwhile, the new administration—stemming from the former opposition—cites a toll of 79 to 81 deaths, with the Ministry of Family and Solidarity already disbursing funds to compensate victims’ families.
“But behind every statistic lies a stolen life, grieving loved ones, shattered communities, and an urgent need for justice,” stressed CartograFreeSenegal, a group of about 40 journalists, cartographers, and data scientists. Formed after the June 2023 popular uprising, it has worked to compile a precise, verified count of victims, 81% of whom were killed by gunfire.
Violence was particularly acute in Dakar and Ziguinchor (south), with 40 and 19 deaths respectively. These figures “reflect the scale of violence unleashed against citizens seeking justice,” the report states.
The victims were overwhelmingly young, averaging 26 years old. The youngest was 14, the oldest 53. Nearly half were laborers or mechanics, while a quarter were students, underscoring the repression’s broad societal toll.
“We established direct, reliable contact with victims’ families to authenticate each death. Every case was meticulously documented using autopsy certificates, photos, videos, and testimonies from relatives and eyewitnesses,” said CartograFreeSenegal, pledging solidarity with grieving families still awaiting justice.
ODL/te/sf/lb/as/APA