Senegal is set to summon former President Macky Sall to court after the country’s audit office uncovered significant irregularities in the treasury’s financial records during his tenure, a government spokesperson confirmed on Friday.
Sall is accused of overseeing a “catastrophic” mismanagement of public funds, following an independent audit that invalidated official figures from his administration, significantly revising both national debt and the public deficit upwards.
The former president, who has resided in Morocco since leaving office in 2024, has dismissed the controversy surrounding the report as a “political” issue.
Government spokesman Moustapha Sarre stated that Sall, who governed Senegal from 2012 to 2024, “could even be considered the leader of a group responsible for criminal acts.”
“Inevitably, he will face justice,” Sarre told broadcaster RFM. “He is primarily responsible for the extremely serious offenses committed under his leadership.”
The audit report, released on February 12, revealed discrepancies in Senegal’s financial records, including a 2023 budget deficit of 12.3 percent — more than double the previously reported 4.9 percent under Sall’s administration.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who succeeded Sall as president in March 2024, has vowed to break from the former president’s legacy. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, a longstanding opponent of Sall, pledged last September to investigate what he called “widespread corruption” under the previous government.
In recent months, several former officials have been charged and imprisoned, including a lawmaker close to Sall, who was arrested Thursday on charges of fraud and money laundering.
AFP
