On Tuesday, 11 March 2025, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal, El Malick Ndiaye, announced the submission of a bill on the interpretation of the amnesty law related to the 2021-2014 events surrounding political demonstrations in Senegal. This announcement has sparked strong reactions from various quarters. This bill, approved by the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, was  introduced by MP Amadou Ba from the presidential majority, the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Brotherhood (Pastef-les patriotes).

In the explanatory memorandum, this bill aims to clarify the meaning and scope of certain provisions of the previous law, namely the amnesty law passed on 6 March 2024. In Article 1, the MP seeks to grant amnesty for “all acts that could be classified as criminal or correctional with exclusively political motivation (…), between 1 February 2021 and 25 February 2024, both in Senegal and abroad.” 21st march, It has been amended by Amadou Ba, the proponent of the law.

For reference, the current text of the amnesty covers “ all acts that could be classified as criminal or correctional offences committed between 1 February 2021 and 25 February 2024, both in Senegal and abroad, relating to demonstrations or having political motivations.” The passing of this law was denounced as a “constitutional coup d’état” by both the opposition and CSOs.  At the time, President Macky Sall spoke of a “ desire to ease the political space, to reconcile, and to move forward” when he announced the postponement of the presidential election, which was originally scheduled for 25 February 2024. It ultimately took place on 24 March 2024, resulting in the victory of the Pastef candidate.

Controversial Interpretative law

The first to criticise the Pastef-les patriotes’ proposed law was independent MP Thierno Alassane Sall. According to the former presidential candidate, “ if the PASTEF bill is adopted, acts that could be classified as offences or crimes committed during the specified period with political motivations will not be judged by our courts.” Sall, president of the party La République des Valeurs (RDV) was the first to submit a proposal, which was rejected by the National Assembly’s bureau before the latest bill.

Opposition figures Mamadou Ibra Kane and Abdoul Mbaye have also expressed their opposition to the law. Mamadou Ibra Kane warned of the risk of setting a ” dangerous precedent”, stressing that this bill targets the ” brave guardians of our security and territorial integrity.” For his part, the former Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye strongly called for the outright repeal of the amnesty law. He warned against any attempt to uphold it under a “convenient interpretation.”

For their part, the latest opposition coalition, the Front for the Defence of Democracy and the Republic (FDR), said during a press conference thathis initiative aims to permanently weaken the foundations of the rule of law in Senegal…” They also announced a march on 2 April to protest against the law.

The first civil society reaction came from the citizen movement Y’en A Marre. On 18 March, during a press conference, the members of Y’en A Marre reiterated their firm opposition to the bill. Cyril Touré, better known by his rapper name “Thiat,” a founding member, expressed the movement’s position by calling for a “complete and simple repeal” of this law. In a Facebook post, Elimane Haby Kane, Executive Director of Legs Africa, deemed the majority’s initiative as “absurd, just like the amnesty law, which should simply be repealed.” The Front for a Pan-African Anti-Imperialist Popular Revolution (FRAPP) expressed perplexity regarding the proposed law in a statement on Wednesday, 12 March 2025. According to them, “ any attempt to explain the law is merely a prolongation of the injustice and impunity that plague the country.”

On 20 March, the House majority held a press conference to clarify their motivations. They stated that they are driven by a duty of truth: “all perpetrators of acts of assassination, torture and murder, regardless of their political affiliation, will never be covered by amnesty.” MPs were summoned to a plenary on Tuesday, 2 April, to debate the bill following the conference of the presidents of the National Assembly on Wednesday, 19 March, .

Y’en A Marre, a pioneer of citizen activism in Africa, has faced criticism from the ruling party for standing against the amnesty law interpretative bil. It is important to note that YEM coordinator  Aliou Sané was one of the victims of the Macky Sall regime over his uncompromising commitment to defending democracy and the rule of law.

The current House majority  who were in opposition in 2024, voted against the amnesty law then. It is also worth noting that party leader and current Prime Minister Ousman Sonko campaigned during the campaign for the last legislative elections on 17 November 2024 promising to repeal the law once they hold the majority. On 27 December 2024, during his general policy statement before the House, he announced the submission of a bill to repeal the amnesty law in order to “ shed light and establish responsibilities, regardless of where they may lie.”

Recalling ruling party’s commitments

AfricTivistes calls on the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye to  remain true to the commitments he made to the Senegalese people in his end-of-year speech. He then mentioned a “ moral debt” towards the victims of the tragic events that occurred between March 2021 and February 2024, as well as towards their families. He emphatically stated, “we cannot accept silence regarding the tragic events experienced over the past four years.”

In its approach, The State in Senegal must uphold ratified international instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the African charter on human and peoples’ rights which stated in its article 3 that “ All individuals are entitled to equal equality before the law and have the right to equal protection of the law.”

Ahead of the April 2nd National Assembly plenary session, AfricTivistes calls on the majority MPs to prioritise dialogue and consultation with the nation’s active forces to shed light for the Senegalese people. As a network committed to the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms – having vehemently condemned the disproportionate use of force during the demonstrations that took place from 2021 to 2024 in Senegal- AfricTivistes reminds the current administration that truth is essential for progress as the blanket amnesty law was passed in a context of political crisis that resulted in the deaths of many Senegalese.