A true war hero is the subject of an assignment that looks more like an unjustified sanction. General Souleymane Kandé, head of the French Army, the man who brought peace to Casamance and reduced the Mfdc to “its simplest expression”, has been assigned as a military attaché in India. He believes that his rank and record of service should earn him at least an ambassadorial post. And he is going to challenge the decree of appointment.

Assigned as Military Attaché to the Senegalese Embassy in New Delhi, India, General Souleymane Kandé is appealing to the Supreme Court to have his appointment decree overturned. The Army Chief of Staff considers this assignment to be a humiliation, which could be construed as a punishment. In his case, there is no justification for this. All members of the Army are in tune with their leader.

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Indeed, as some media have been pointing out since yesterday, it was General Kandé who was able to pacify Casamance, during the period he served there as Comzone. It was he who broke up all the major Mfdc bases in the region and enabled the long-exiled population to return to their homeland. Could this be the reason for this treatment? Within the Army, some people recall that Birame Diop, now Minister of Defense, was Chief of the General Staff (Cemga) when Souleymane Kandé was Comzone in Ziguinchor. Colonel Kandé’s sweep operations at the time did not meet with the approval of his superiors. It took the arbitration of the Head of State, Macky Sall, on several occasions, for the Comzone to receive all the logistical and military support he needed to carry out his mission. Unlike his predecessors, Souleymane Kandé wasn’t content to hang around the salons of Ziguinchor; he took his men into the field, into the maquis, to hunt down the Mfdc remnants threatening the peace of the civilian population.

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It is thought that these feats of arms may have fuelled a certain resentment, which some people today feel able to translate into action with impunity. It is said that when it came to proposing appointments, Colonel Kandé’s name was “forgotten” by his superiors. It took President Macky Sall, on his own authority, to add him to the list. The Head of State could not understand how someone who had shown such bravery could be unrecognized without just cause. Moreover, as if to demonstrate his capabilities, General Kandé has combined his duties as Chief of Staff of the Army with those of Chief of the Army’s Special Forces. As such, he is at the heart of the security arrangements at our various borders.

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“Exiling” such a high-level competence to a third-level embassy in New Delhi could only be justified if it were a sanction. All the more so since, having been raised to the rank of Army General for at least 3 years, he could, at a pinch, only occupy ambassadorial functions, if one is so keen to appoint him abroad.

Under these conditions, his posting decree should be deemed illegal and annulled. These are just some of the arguments General Kandé will be putting to the Supreme Court.

It should be noted that this decision comes as he takes part, at the Senegalese Armed Forces Tactical Training Centre in Dodji (North), in the multinational military exercise “African Lion 2024”, organized by the United States Africa Command. The aim of the exercise is “to strengthen the joint defense capabilities of the Armies to counter international threats and violent extremist organizations”, and brings together more than 900 American, Dutch and Senegalese military personnel to improve the interoperability of the partner countries’ armed forces.
By Mohamed GUEYE / mgueye@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH / Serigne S. DIAGNE