Gambiaj.com – (Dakar, Senegal) – The prominent columnist Bachir Fofana has been placed under police custody following legal action initiated by the public prosecutor’s office. This development follows Fofana’s public accusations involving the controversial award of a vehicle procurement contract by the National Assembly to businessman Cheikh Guèye, already entangled in a high-profile corruption case.

Initially, the speaker of the National Assembly, Malick Ndiaye, filed a complaint against Fofana for the dissemination of false information.

However, after the public prosecutor took up the matter independently, Ndiaye reportedly withdrew his complaint, leaving the prosecution to proceed autonomously. The judicial police are now acting under the direction of the prosecutor to determine the legal fate of Bachir Fofana.

Fofana’s statements linked the National Assembly’s contract to Cheikh Guèye, head of the TCS company, a figure already being tried in the Guédiawaye courthouse.

In that case, Guèye confessed to paying 50 million FCFA in cash to then-Minister of Justice Ismaïla Madior Fall, who allegedly “diplomatically refused” the bribe.

The arrest has sparked a wave of political reaction. Thierno Alassane Sall, opposition deputy and leader of the party “Republic of Values,” condemned what he called an “authoritarian drift” targeting voices critical of the government. “Now it’s Bachir’s turn,” Sall remarked, warning that the pattern of arrests suggests “everyone will end up going there” for expressing dissent.

He criticized the criminalization of statements that could be easily refuted by public clarifications rather than resorting to detention and legal harassment.

Sall also cited similar judicial actions against other public figures, including Moustapha Diakhaté and Abdou Nguer, sarcastically suggesting that “a special cell could be formed in jail” to accommodate them.

Moreover, Sall took aim at former opposition members who are now in power, accusing them of being more repressive toward criticism than those they once opposed. “To silence everyone? Pain lost,” he concluded, issuing a veiled call for respect for freedom of speech and democratic norms.

As of now, the public awaits clarity on the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings, while civil society and opposition voices continue to demand transparency and restraint in handling cases involving journalists and whistleblowers.