Senegal: 76 deaths recorded by the public prosecutor in the investigation into political violence from 2021 to 2024

The Public Prosecutor at the Dakar High Court released an initial report on the evening of October 3, 2026, regarding the investigation into the violence that occurred in Senegal between 2021 and 2024: 76 deaths have been provisionally recorded, including 41 in the Dakar region alone, according to APA News.

The investigation, conducted from October 2025 to September 2026 based on instructions received in July 2025, focuses on acts that could be classified as crimes against humanity, with the prosecutor's office citing "systematic" offenses of torture, persecution, and unlawful killings, the same source reports. More than 200 people are considered alleged victims of torture or ill-treatment, and 166 witnesses and victims have been heard.

Five indictments and a battle over detention

Five people were indicted on September 23, 2026, again according to APA News. Two were placed in pre-trial detention, while the other three were placed under judicial supervision or electronic monitoring. The prosecutor's office appealed this decision on September 28, 2026, demanding the detention of the five accused, who benefit from the presumption of innocence until a conviction is handed down.

Two cases were cited: that of Pape Abdoulaye Touré, for which four suspects were arrested for torture, and that of Mamadou Ndoye, who died in Bargny under circumstances involving, according to the investigation, a police vehicle; one person has been arrested.

Why this case matters for Africa

Between 2021 and 2024, Senegal went through several cycles of repressed protests against a backdrop of a standoff between the then-government and the opposition. Families of victims and human rights organizations had been demanding for years that responsibilities be established and named, beyond the conflicting reports released in the heat of the moment.

The fact that an African prosecutor's office is itself investigating acts that could be classified as crimes against humanity, without waiting for a jurisdiction outside the continent, is in itself a political milestone: it places justice back into the hands of national institutions and their citizens. The test will come with what follows: the identification of all chains of command, the outcome of the prosecutor's appeal, and effective reparations for the families. The figure of 76 deaths remains provisional and could change, the prosecutor's office warns.