Affaire ASER : Condamné pour « fausses nouvelles », Pape Mahawa Diouf persiste et dénonce une justice instrumentalisée
Appearing on the program "Le Grand Jury" this Sunday, December 21, 2025, Pape Mahawa Diouf, deputy spokesperson for the Alliance for the Republic (APR), addressed his one-month suspended prison sentence. Far from backing down, the politician firmly contested the court's decision and reaffirmed the legitimacy of his statements regarding alleged embezzlement related to the Senegalese Rural Electrification Agency (ASER) project.
After serving fifteen days in pretrial detention, Pape Mahawa Diouf revealed that he had been subjected to pressure during the proceedings. According to him, the opposing party attempted to negotiate the withdrawal of the complaint in exchange for a public retraction. He affirmed his firm stance against these proposals, stating: "The lawyers continued to ask me to recant so they could withdraw their complaint. Naturally, I completely refused, insisting that they go to trial and stand by their accusation."
At the heart of this legal battle lies a sum of 37 billion CFA francs. Pape Mahawa Diouf maintains that he is not the source of this figure but simply exercised his civic duty by relaying information that was already public. He reiterated his defense: "As I stated in court and have repeated, I simply said that 37 billion francs were allegedly embezzled, according to Thierno Alassane Sall, who stands by his statement." He emphasized that he has always spoken in the conditional tense, explicitly citing his source.
To support his position, the APR official cites several recent events which, according to him, confirm the existence of a gray area surrounding the project. He specifically mentions "a presumption of embezzlement involving 37 billion CFA francs" and the decision by the Spanish bank Santander to suspend the disbursement of funds, demanding "clear justifications regarding the use of the funds already advanced."
The project is also experiencing a worrying delay in delivery for rural populations. With 18 months having passed on a 36-month contract, the political leader makes a stark assessment: "The project is already 18 months into the work, and there are at least 700 to 800 villages that should have been electrified by this stage but are not."
In concluding his remarks, Pape Mahawa Diouf criticized his opponents' strategy. According to him, turning a political critique into a legal case is a regrettable development. He believes that "the ASER authorities erred in trying to bring a matter of opinion before the courts," before firmly concluding that "public debate cannot be politicized."
Commentaires (3)
Voilà le type d'opposition que nous avons maintenant au Sénégal mais comme dirait Camus, la bêtise insiste toujours.
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