There will be no amnesty law for crimes related to the demonstrations from March 2021 until February 2024. The outbursts from Alioune Tine and Pierre Goudiaby Atepa, among others, have had a negative impact on the perception of the situation by the majority of the Head of State’s supporters. The bill, which was due to be presented to the Council of Ministers yesterday, has been shelved. President Macky Sall was forced to drop it.

« Sonko will be released in the next few days. » If Afrikajom’s Alioune Tine had based his comments on the amnesty bill that was due to be presented yesterday in the Council of Ministers before landing in the National Assembly, he should take back what he said. The bill is stillborn! Indeed, the public and private reactions of members of the majority got the better of the President of the Republic. Macky Sall was forced to abandon the idea. The leader of the Benno bokk yaakaar Coalition was convinced by members of his camp of the « mistake » he was about to make.

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As previously reported in Le Quotidien, the draft law was discussed in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday of last week. But several members of the government did not approve it, and even firmly rejected it. The Head of State gave himself a week to reflect, with the secret intention of overcoming the reluctance of his camp. But, the publication of the information by Le Quotidien on Monday 12 February, and the uproar it caused across the country, showed Macky Sall the difficult hurdle he would have to clear if he persisted with his plan.

Some of his closest collaborators made known their clear opposition to the idea of granting amnesty for certain crimes. And if he persisted, some ministers were ready to put their resignation on the line to make him change his mind. Having suspected all this, President Macky Sall did not even mention the project at yesterday’s Council of Ministers meeting.

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It also seems that the latest statements by Pierre Goudiaby Atepa and Alioune Tine, announcing respectively the willingness of the two parties to work together and the release of Ousmane Sonko from prison, were not to the liking of some members of Benno bokk yaakaar. They did not understand why « those who have been at the forefront against Ousmane Sonko could be sacrificed, in addition to reinforcing the defenders of the thesis of political prisoners ». Moustapha Diakhaté was one of the most outspoken opponents of the plan. He has taken to the podium to make this known. « If President Macky continues, I will fiercely oppose it », he declared.

We can imagine that this about-turn will certainly not please the « Patriots ». They who, without admitting it publicly, were looking favourably on Ousmane Sonko’s forthcoming exit. Indeed, with the tension caused by the postponement of the presidential election, having Ousmane Sonko free to move about would have been a considerable advantage for them. The mayor of Ziguinchor will have to find other ways to get out of prison, or to serve his sentence.

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The abandonment of this amnesty bill will inevitably have consequences for the dialogue sought by Macky Sall. Officially, the « Patriots » are against the idea, but how can they be persuaded to come to the table without certain concessions? This is the equation that its instigator will have to solve. And those who were hoping to open the doors of the Palace on the occasion of this new tension will have to continue looking for other bones to gnaw.

By Malick GAYE / mgaye@lequotidien.sn

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