Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – A wave of shock and controversy has engulfed Senegal following startling allegations by government spokesperson Moustapha Sarré regarding the death of former Minister of Finance and Budget, Mamadou Moustapha Ba. During a widely circulated media intervention, Sarré declared that Ba “was killed in troubled conditions,” sending ripples through the nation and reigniting suspicions surrounding the former minister’s passing.

Ba died in France in November 2024, and his death is currently the subject of a judicial investigation. The French public prosecutor had explicitly cited a “non-natural death” as the reason for launching the probe.

However, Sarré’s recent remarks have intensified speculation, especially as he pointed out the delayed disclosure of details surrounding Ba’s death, suggesting that “several days” had passed before the circumstances became known.

The implications of such statements from a government official were immediate and profound. Sarré’s comments provoked an uproar, prompting him to issue a clarification on his Facebook page on March 19, 2025.

He claimed that his words had been taken out of context and manipulated to generate an unnecessary controversy. “When people lack arguments, they create controversies,” he wrote, indirectly criticizing the former regime. Defending his remarks, he stated that he was merely exercising his “right to wonder about significant facts of current news, without making any assertions.”

Nevertheless, the damage had been done. The late minister’s family reacted swiftly through their legal representatives, strongly condemning Sarré’s statements.

“The widow of Moustapha Ba denounces the irresponsible remarks of the government spokesman, who asserts that her husband was killed in troubled conditions,” said attorneys El Hadji Moustapha Diouf and Amadou Aly Kane. The family’s lawyers have called for Sarré to be “immediately summoned for hearing” as part of the ongoing investigation.

This explosive controversy comes amid an already tense political climate in Senegal, where the new administration is scrutinizing the governance of its predecessors.

As the investigation into Ba’s death continues, Sarré’s allegations have not only deepened existing political divisions but have also placed his government under intense scrutiny. Whether his remarks were a slip of the tongue or a deliberate revelation, the storm they have unleashed is far from over.