DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal’s National Assembly voted Friday to refer former communications and digital affairs minister Moussa Bocar Thiam to the High Court of Justice, escalating President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s anti-corruption drive against officials who served under former president Macky Sall. Since taking power in March 2024 alongside Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, the new leadership has repeatedly accused its predecessors of mismanaging public funds and promised prosecutions. At least five former ministers have already been sent to the special court, which tries ex-members of government for offences allegedly committed in office.
The latest case centers on a contract linked to a digital technology park. According to a parliamentary report cited by multiple outlets, lawmakers found “serious indications and presumptions” that could justify criminal proceedings against Thiam for criminal conspiracy, embezzlement of public funds worth 1,476,482,766 CFA francs — about $2.7 million — and money laundering.
The allegations relate to the execution of a project involving Senegal’s Digital Technology Park in Diamniadio, where investigators are examining financial transactions tied to a concession arrangement and related works. Senegalese media reports say the Assembly’s legal commission concluded the file contained enough evidence to justify sending the matter to the High Court of Justice for further action.
Thiam has rejected the accusations. In a response posted on social media after the vote, he denounced the proceedings as “without legal basis” and said he would contest the matter in court. His case now moves to the High Court of Justice’s investigating committee, which must decide after a hearing whether there is enough basis to put him on trial.
The court is one of Senegal’s most consequential institutions for political accountability because its decisions carry extraordinary weight: once it rules, its judgments cannot be appealed or reviewed, according to the reports. That makes Friday’s vote a significant legal and political blow for Thiam — and another sign that the Faye-Sonko administration is pressing ahead with its promised reckoning over the Sall era.
