The Mbacké department celebrated the 66th anniversary of Senegal's independence this Saturday, April 4, 2026, with great pomp and ceremony. A civil-military parade was held in the presence of administrative, local, and security authorities, marking the close of a rich and varied program of festivities initiated by Prefect Khadim Hann since April 1.

Four days of celebration

The festivities were launched on April 1st with a walking tour through the streets of Mbacké, focused on raising awareness of non-communicable diseases.

On April 2nd, a blood drive organized in collaboration with the Mbacké health center and the Matlaboul Fawzayni hospital in Touba resulted in the collection of 86 units of blood. The prefect publicly praised this achievement: "The primary objective of this activity was to save lives. We demonstrated patriotism, civic duty, and a sense of national responsibility by organizing a blood drive at the departmental level."

Tribute to the defense and security forces

This year, the theme chosen for the national holiday is "The Defense and Security Forces, Partners of the Youth Olympic Games." The prefect took the opportunity to award a special commendation to the defense and security forces, praising their bravery, commitment, and dynamism in serving the public. He also encouraged young people to draw inspiration from their values: "Patriotism, Olympism, citizenship, and civic responsibility are fundamental values that must guide our daily actions."

The Pape Cheikh Diallo affair is brought to the forefront.

Legal news was not absent from this solemn speech. Referring to the recent arrests linked to the Pape Cheikh Diallo case and associates, which have not spared the Mbacké department, the prefect made a solemn appeal to parents.

"National news in recent days has been marked by arrests linked to acts we do not know about, acts that are not in accordance with our traditional values of civic duty, our republican values," he declared, before adding: "I urge all parents to instill more strongly the cardinal values that our ancestors bequeathed to us."

Call for political appeasement

Prefect Khadim Hann also used this platform to call on political actors to work towards calming tensions, in anticipation of the possible renewal of mandates for elected officials in local authorities in the coming months. "These elections should unite us. We must work harder to ease the political and social climate," he declared.

He concluded his speech by congratulating all the participants in the parade, awarding them a special mention for "high-quality performances".