By RFIPalled on 30-09-2019Modified on 30-09-2019 at 22:11

In Senegal, Khalifa Sall was released on the evening of September 29 after a pardon by President Macky Sall. The former mayor of Dakar was sentenced to five years in prison and 5 million CFA francs in fine (about 7,600 euros in fines) in March 2017 for "fraud on public money", a conviction upheld on appeal. But now free, he remains ineligible.

After his release, the former mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, spent the day with his closest to Tivaouane, a town located a hundred kilometers northeast of the capital. At the mayor of Dakar, some of his supporters and supporters welcome his release and are already dreaming of the return of the mayor to business. In front of the building, the sign " Dakar under locks " with the portrait of Khalifa Sall and the number of days of detention, is still present.

Bassirou Cissé, who has been a member of the City Hall Security Service since 2009, knows Khalifa Sall well and hopes to see him again soon. " We give thanks to God ," he says. Khalifa Sall brings us joy. He fights for the freedom of the people. He is also fighting for justice. The people are sovereign in front of the politicians and it fights for that ".

He is loved all over Senegal and we would like him to be our President of the Republic.

Senegal: Dakar city hall hopes for Khalifa Sall's return

30-09-2019 - By RFI

This is the next step in Khalifa Sall's fight: recovering his political rights. The prison sentence and the fine of 5 million CFA francs (7,600 euros) have been repealed , but the grace does not erase the sentence.

Amnesty ?

The former mayor of Dakar can neither vote nor participate in an election. And the decree signed on September 29 by the president does not concern damages and interest due to the state by Khalifa Sall and two of his co-defendants, about 2.8 million euros. " It's a sword of Damocles ", according to one of his lawyers, Master Seydou Diagne.

Dissident of the Socialist Party, candidate declared but excluded from the last presidential election last February, dismissed from his functions of mayor and deputy , Khalifa Sall has two possibilities to continue his political fight for the next deadlines, the local elections, the legislative elections from 2022 then the presidential election of 2024: a revision of his trial, or an amnesty law in the Assembly.

The latter law could also concern Karim Wade . The son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, sentenced for illicit enrichment, pardoned in 2016, in exile in Qatar, also remains ineligible and under a fine of more than 210 million euros. This proposal could be raised in the context of the national dialogue.

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