In a media appearance on Radio France Internationale (Rfi) and France 24 Channel, President Macky Sall of Senegal said he was “favorable” to a “rehabilitation” of Karim Wade and Khalifa Sall.
Khalifa Sall, 65, sentenced to five years in prison and a five million fine in the case of the Dakar mayoral fund, and Karim Wade, 53, now living in exile in Qatar, sentenced to six years in prison and a fine of CFA 138 billion for unlawful enrichment, have lost their eligibility in accordance with the provisions of the Senegalese electoral code.
The two politicians were granted a presidential pardon but must regain their civil and political rights to be registered on the electoral rolls and to be able to run in any elections.
To go back to square one, amnesty remains an alternative to put them back in the political game. “Is it an amnesty, or a kind of rehabilitation? — I don’t know. I’m not sure. I have already told the Unitary Framework of Islam in Senegal, which intervenes a lot to pacify the political environment,” Macky Sall said. The Senegalese head of state believes, however, that it is necessary to find the “right formula that respects the law.”
An amnesty law for people convicted of economic and financial crimes would be a first experience in Senegal. In general, the measure is aimed at political crimes, such as the 1990 amnesty law (re: the Casamance crisis) and the 2005 amnesty law (re: post-election unrest in 1993).
But in order to pacify the Senegalese political space, 60 year-old Macky Sall would be willing to take this “circumstantial and exceptional” measure to “preserve social cohesion” at a time when Senegal is heading towards important elections with the 2022 local and legislative elections and the 2024 presidential election.
CD/fss/abj/APA