Senegalese Authorities Detain Journalists Pape Moussa Traoré, Mohamed Guèye

The Senegalese gendarmerie have detained two journalists over articles that they published about the transfer of an Army General to India. Pape Moussa Traoré, editor of the daily La Tribune, and Mohamed Guèye, editor of Le Quotidien, were invited for questioning following the publication of articles which also suggested a rift between Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and General Souleymane Kandé, the Chief of Staff of the Senegalese Army. The police arrested and detained them after they responded to the invitation.

Pape Moussa Traoré was invited on May 29, 2024 and subsequently placed in custody on May 30, 2024 by the gendarmerie in Dakar. Traoré’s story on the redeployment of General Kandé, which suggested a fallout with Prime Minister Sonko, is believed to have led to his arrest.

Following Traoré’s detention, Mohamed Guèye was also invited and detained on May 31, 2024. Le Quotidien, Guèye’s newspaper, reported that his troubles likely stemmed from recent publications questioning the circumstances of General Kandé’s redeployment to India.

“These questionings follow articles in the two daily newspapers about the posting of the Army Chief of Staff, General Souleymane Kandé, as Military Attaché to the Senegalese Embassy in New Delhi, India,” the media outlet reported.

The two journalists were released on May 31, 2024. Their detention sparked widespread reactions across Senegal and beyond. The Syndicat des Professionnels de l’Information et de la Communication du Sénégal (SYNPICS) and the Coordination des Associations de Presse (CAP) have both criticised the arrests, emphasising the need for the government to uphold freedom of the press.