Five former ministers from the regime of ex-President Macky Sall may face prosecution before Senegal’s High Court for the alleged embezzlement of public funds, according to the Attorney General at the Dakar Court of Appeal.
During a press conference on Thursday, 17 April, he stated that serious suspicions were held regarding their management of the Covid-19 Response Fund. In December 2022, the Court of Auditors had raised concerns over a series of alleged “management errors” regarding this fund, which was set up to respond to the pandemic.
The ministers are accused of diverting money from the Covid-19 Fund, intended to fight the pandemic, for personal gain. The prosecutor explained that their case had been referred to the National Assembly to determine whether or not legal action should be taken against them. This was described as an exceptional procedure, as ministers who commit infractions during their tenure can be held accountable before the High Court of Justice. Outside of these five ministers, 27 individuals have been charged this week in relation to suspected mismanagement of special funds allocated for the Covid-19 response between 2020 and 2021. The prosecutor, Ibrahima Ndoye, assured that investigations would continue to identify all involved parties and recover the misappropriated funds.
The legal proceedings were eagerly anticipated by the public after a report from the Court of Auditors in December 2022 highlighted several instances of overpricing within the Covid-19 Fund. The report, which spanned 180 pages, listed numerous “management faults” in the 700 billion CFA Francs (equivalent to over one billion Euros) raised by international donors and the Senegalese government. For instance, rice distributed to the most vulnerable during lockdown was purchased for 2.7 billion CFA Francs, which was significantly more expensive than its actual value. Additionally, since the establishment of the financial judicial division, 15 billion CFA Francs have been seized, and 262 people involved in 282 financial cases have been arrested.