Astonishing claim that over $1.6 million in drug doping bribes from Russia funded the sitting Senegalese President’s election campaign has left dark cloud hanging over Macky Sall, the man who is seen as one of Africa’s darling democrats. What makes the allegations so striking is that the man sounding the bell is himself a Senegalese. Lamine Diack, 82, was arrested on suspicion of graft and money laundering.
The former President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) told French investigators that $1.6 million of Russian money was used to unseat President Abdoulaye Wase in 2012. The bribe was paid to conceal Russia’s positive doping tests. Diack’s account comes at a time some leaked documents to that effect surface.
Diack, who headed the world athletic body for 16 years, was quoted as saying that the said money was badly needed to ‘win the battle of Dakar.’ Le Monde quoted him as saying money was required to mobilise youth campaigners, rent vehicles, meeting rooms and to produce leaflets.
Russian athletes were suspended for the world championship in Russia. “We agreed to help and in return Russia supported us,” Mr. Diack said.
Meanwhile, Senegalese government spokesman debunked Diack’s allegations. Seydou Gueye said President Macky Sall was not involved in the bribery.
It would be a big blow to many Africans if Diack’s account turns out to be true. The scandal has already allows people to question Senegal’s democracy. The Sall government has been stamping on corruption and bribery and even jailed high profile former government officials. Among the jailed official is Karim Wade, the former minister and son of former President Abdoulaye Wade.
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Oh men! Yaya Jammeh is absolve from quilt.
I always argue that Macky Shallow is not authentic. In Texas, everyone knows how corrupt this man is. His ego is what drives him. He careless about people and their welfare. Senegal is going down because of him trying to be everything out of nothing.
What’s now worrying is him arresting journalists for just reporting his unscrupulous businesses. Jammeh is once again vindicated for insulting this monkey. We did not hear the last of this man.
If you are the same Malang who claimed that Jammeh had to start from scratch, then you should be ashamed of yourself for calling Macky “corrupt” but still pledge support for Yaya Jammeh, whose corruption (by evidence of what we see him doing and by his own admission) is beyond measure…
Also, whatever President Sall’s faults are, he is still the legitimate leader of a state and thus, universally accepted diplomatic protocols require that he be treated as such by other leaders…Yaya Jammeh is not justified, by any sense of the word, to break and depart from these protocols.
Shame on you Malik for trying to exonerate Jammeh from corruption and bribery. Don’t you forget that he is worth more than the Gambia? Where did he get all that money if he is not corrupt? In fact, his account at Continent Bank was overdrawn on July 22 1994.
The bribery scandal involving the IAEA and Russian Athletics is disgraceful and the involvement of Mr Lamine Diack, a man of such reputable standing and respect (until now), is equally disgraceful and disappointing…
Mr Diack’s revelation is definitely shocking but whether President Sall is culpable for blame or not, is something that should be established beyond doubt, before people drag his name in the mud of the IAEA scandal..
Personally, I think a few “curiosities” must be satisfied before we can establish Mr Sall’s “guilt” or “innocence” in this matter..
(1)…From the angle of the IAEA: Mr Sall is not, and I assume, has never been an official of the IAEA and probably did not know what was going on within that organisation…Unless he has been personally informed about the source of this campaign funding, I don’t see how he can be held responsible to the point of questioning his integrity…He must be absolved from this angle, until proven otherwise..
(2)…From the legal angle: This would depend on what Senegalese Law says on funding Electioneering and Campaigning…Since I don’t know Senegalese Law, I will leave that open until somebody can proof that Macky Sall and his team knew that they were doing something by accepting these funds…
(3)…From the moral/morality angle: Senegal, like many countries in the region, is grappling with serious economic and economic related issues..It has, perhaps, the biggest challenge of child and street beggars, and I think it is utterly disgraceful that people who aspire to hold public office in that country would spend $1.6Million or more, on political campaigning alone..This revelation has shown that Macky Sall, like his predecessor and the lot of them in the continent, are not fundentally different from one another, and are a disgrace to Africa..
We are not the West or America, where who becomes leader is determined by the size of his/her wallet and their backers…
Let’s say “NO” to the politics of inducement and wastage of much needed resources…
Let’s shun these copyists and imitators and deny them Public Office because they will only make matters worse for us..
Yes. Everyone said Sall was Wade’s boy. And now he is arresting journalists – in Senegal! That is a sign of guilt and desperation. I am sure my friend next door also contributed to his election – maybe Sall starting acting cleaner-than-thou and that is why he got called names! Anyway, Sall is save as long as he remains the French-Boy – corrupting African leaders is a French pastime and the look after their “Good Boys”.
Malang Njie, you’re missing the point, knowing Jammeh he will use this as justification of all his past, present, and future criminal activities.