This year’s celebration occurs on Friday, August 23, marking the 130th edition of this annual gathering of the Mouride Sufi brotherhood, which commemorates the forced exile of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba (1853-1927) to Gabon by French colonial authorities. Bamba, also known as Serigne Touba, is the founder of this influential community in a predominantly Muslim country.
The event is being organized under the oversight of new authorities, who have been in power since March. In keeping with tradition, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye visited the General Caliph of the Mourides, Serigne Mountakha Mbacke, last Monday. Accompanied by his wife and a large ministerial delegation, the president assured the religious leader of his commitment to resolving the city’s water and sanitation issues.
Following this, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko paid a visit to Touba on Wednesday, which received extensive media coverage on Thursday. This visit carries particular significance given the past tensions between Sonko and the former regime of Macky Sall (2012-2024), which had reportedly obstructed his previous attempts to meet with the Caliph.
Last year during the same period, Sonko was incarcerated and staged a hunger strike amid political unrest that affected the country from 2021 to 2023. A delegation from the Yewwi Askan Wi (Free the People) coalition visited Touba last year to inform the Caliph about Sonko’s detention conditions and his refusal to eat. During his recent meeting with the Caliph, Sonko emotionally recalled this significant moment.
“This gesture is etched in my memory. I realized then that your thoughts had never left me. It showed that nothing is eternal in this world. When the Sheikh went into exile, everyone was disoriented, but he understood that only success would crown his journey,” said the Prime Minister, reiterating President Faye’s directives to resolve the water supply and sanitation challenges in Touba within five years.
The president of the Pastef party emphasized the need for commitments to Touba, stating in the daily newspaper Le Soleil that he has a strong electoral base in the area, where Faye recently won a majority of polling stations during the last presidential election against Amadou Ba, the candidate from the previous regime. Unlike Faye, other figures from the new opposition, such as the mayors of Dakar and Saint-Louis, Barthelemy Dias and Mansour Faye, have already met with the Caliph.
To ensure safety during the event, authorities have deployed 4,331 police officers and 144 vehicles, according to Chief Commissioner Diégane Sène. So far, the national fire brigade has reported 94 incidents, resulting in four fatalities.
Amid concerns over rising transport costs and heavy traffic, the Mouride faithful remain resolute in their journey to Touba for the Magal. In response to the increased fares charged by some transport operators, Minister of Transport Malick Ndiaye has mobilized buses from Dakar Dem Dikk, the public transport company, and has called upon military drivers to assist in transporting worshipers.
On the health side, the Ministry of Health has implemented a comprehensive epidemiological surveillance system to monitor Mpox, despite no cases being reported in the country. Authorities remain hopeful that the Magal can proceed under optimal conditions, even with forecasts of significant rainfall between Wednesday and Sunday, as indicated by the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (Anacim).
ODL/Sf/ac/fss/abj/APA