Marine Le Pen’s trip to Senegal continues to make waves in the country. The meeting, kept secret until the last moment, between the leader of the National Rally (RN) group in the French National Assembly and Macky Sall, President of the Senegalese Republic, on January 18 had provoked violent reactions of dissatisfaction among Senegalese activists and politicians.
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Almost two months later, this interview is once again at the center of controversy. In an open letter published in Senegalese media last weekend, former Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré threw a new wave into the pond. In question form, the former Prime Minister challenges the President of the Republic over an alleged donation of 12 million euros to a “French political figure”, but without providing any evidence. He does not name her, but does refer to Marine Le Pen. One of his relatives describes a man who was “outraged” by the French politician’s visit to Senegal.
The president of the political movement Democracy and Republic, who classified himself “as a citizen” and asked for clarification “for the people”, also raised the question of a possible postponement of the presidential elections, which are scheduled for February 24. 2024
A “muzzling attempt”
Marine Le Pen’s entourage has denied “totally eccentric” allegations. On March 6, government spokesman Abdou Karim Fofana reacted that these were “false, malicious and unfounded allegations” that “testify to an evil desire to discredit the person of the President”. The government then said it “reserved the right to take any action it deems appropriate”.
This sequel arrived seventy-two hours later. After prosecutors took over the case, he was summoned for a hearing before the general security of the central police station in Dakar on Thursday 9 March and charged with spreading false news and defamation.
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“It is a mistake to resist a judicial response to political questions. But it has become a common modus operandi. Justice is regularly exploited by the power of reckoning, we’ve seen it with opponents like Ousmane Sonko or previously Karim Wade, Khalifa Sall,” stresses political scientist Moussa Diaw.
A discreet and respected technocrat
With his open letter, Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré sealed a comeback on the political stage that was as surprising as it was shocking. The 71-year-old is widely described as “discreet”, rarely featured in the press and “resisting abuse”. Thiès native Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré, like his childhood friend Idrissa Seck, the president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council who remains an ally of Macky Sall, is the archetype of a senior Senegalese official. He has spent his entire career in public administration, climbing through all levels.
As Inspector of the Treasury, he became Delegate to the Minister for Economy and Finance a year after Abdoulaye Wade came to power in 2000, before being appointed Prime Minister (2007-2009). Two years later, he took over as head of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Commission, which he held for six years, which allowed him to develop a close network with heads of state, former ministers and senior officials, says a former staffer.
A priori more technocrat than politician, Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré founded his political movement Democracy and Republic in 2018. In 2019 he announced that he wanted to run, but without getting enough sponsors. “He ran for President in 2019 with no basis and only had his past as a former Prime Minister and ex-President of the UEMOA Commission. Politically, it doesn’t weigh much,” says Moussa Diaw.
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Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré retired from Senegalese politics for four years. His recent departure therefore fuels theories from the Presidential Party, which sees it as an opportunity for a “political resurrection” for the former prime minister, who is no longer hiding his desire to run for office in 2024. Ambitions that could be reduced to zero if convicted.