Affaire Khadim Bâ : Le Forum du Justiciable dénonce un « deux poids, deux mesures »
In a statement published on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, Babacar Bâ, president of the Forum of the Justiciable, broke his silence on the Khadim Bâ case. After twenty months of the businessman's detention, the advocacy organization directly appealed to the judicial and customs authorities. While outlining the defense's arguments that refute the Customs Service's accusations, Babacar Bâ expressed concern about the alleged preferential treatment given to certain foreign and banking actors at the expense of national champions, jeopardizing Senegal's image and energy sovereignty.
For the Forum of the Justiciable, the Khadim Bâ case can no longer languish without a clear resolution. The organization believes that after such a long wait, "the Khadim Bâ case deserves to be handled with all the attention and fairness that justice requires." According to Babacar Bâ, "after twenty months of detention, it is urgent that the competent authorities make a clear statement on this matter."
The head of the organization emphasizes that "fair and equitable treatment is essential to preserving citizens' trust in the judicial system and to guaranteeing respect for the presumption of innocence." Beyond the individual case of the entrepreneur, the organization stresses that "beyond the person concerned, it is the image of Senegal and the stability of its energy sovereignty that are at stake."
The press release details the technical and financial standoff between the Senegalese Customs administration and the businessman. The Customs administration accuses the entrepreneur first of "providing false documents to banks to obtain payment for fictitious ships that never arrived in Senegal," and also of "failing to pay the import duties owed to him." Finally, the third charge rests on "failing to repatriate 44 billion CFA francs out of a declared turnover of over 800 billion."
In response to these grievances, Babacar Bâ emphasizes that these are "accusations that Khadim Bâ's defense firmly rejects, providing specific evidence."
The defense presents several key sector-specific arguments. First, "SAR officially confirmed that the ships in question arrived and that all customs duties were paid, with supporting documentation." Second, "an independent financial expert, appointed by the judges, confirmed that SAR was the importer and that the duties had been paid." Furthermore, "Dakar-Pétrole, the mandatory platform through which all fuel imports into Senegal pass, also validated the ships' arrival with the supporting documentation." Finally, regarding the accusation of failure to repatriate foreign currency, the Forum du Litigant points out that "all the financial transactions in question were carried out in CFA francs, on Senegalese soil," adding that "not a single franc left the country" and that "the BCEAO validated all of these transactions."
Given the strength of these arguments, civil society is demanding accountability. The statement specifies that, "in light of these responses, it appears essential that Senegalese Customs or the competent authorities take responsibility and inform the public about a matter that has now dragged on for twenty months." For the organization, "transparency and fairness require that the truth be established in order to preserve the stability of our energy sector."
The most striking point of the Forum du Litigant's outcome lies in its denunciation of a blatant disparity in judicial and financial treatment between economic operators. Babacar Bâ describes the situation as a glaring anomaly within the business ecosystem.
The organization's president notes that it is "particularly troubling to observe that Lan Mazanek, CEO of Transcorp, who is reportedly being prosecuted for failing to repatriate over 164 billion FCFA, was allegedly released after a settlement of just over 32 million FCFA." The text also mentions the case of a major financial institution, specifying that "Coris Bank, which is also reportedly implicated in a case involving 846 billion FCFA, allegedly settled for 557 million FCFA."
Babacar Bâ concluded his remarks by emphasizing that "this difference in treatment between a foreign actor and a national champion highlights serious questions about the fairness of our economic justice and how the rules are applied in similar cases."
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