Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, has returned from a regional tour spanning Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, but his homecoming has been overshadowed by a brewing controversy over the luxury jet he used for these travels.
At the center of the storm is a Falcon 7X, an ultra-long-range private jet chartered by Sam Airways—a relatively new player in West Africa’s aviation landscape. Sam Airways, which began operations last year after securing its air operating permit from Senegal’s National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (Anacim), is owned by Senegalo-Lebanese businessman Layousse, who also controls Les Ciments du Sahel.
The company markets itself as a pioneer of high-end private jets in the region, promising “comfort, speed, and flexibility” for VIP clientele. Its base at Dakar-Yoff airport reflects this ambition.
However, the details surrounding the conditions under which Sonko used the Falcon 7X remain shrouded in secrecy. When approached for comment by local reporters, a Sam Airways official declined to provide any information.
Sonko’s use of the Falcon 7X has triggered renewed scrutiny in a country where past controversies about luxury travel by public officials still loom large.
Notably, the same aircraft was used by former President Macky Sall, whose private jet travels were similarly criticized as a symbol of opulence in a nation grappling with economic challenges.
Such episodes evoke the memories of Karim Wade, former Minister of State and son of ex-President Abdoulaye Wade, whose use of a Falcon 50 stirred public outrage over alleged wasteful spending. At the time, the rental of that aircraft was reportedly a staggering 12 billion CFA francs—a figure that cemented perceptions of privilege and fiscal imprudence.
For Sonko, the stakes are high. As a political figure who has built his image on a promise to fight corruption and champion transparency, the opaque nature of his travel arrangements threatens to erode that credibility. Critics argue that if public funds are involved, there is an urgent need to clarify the cost and source of funding for the Falcon 7X flights.
Former magistrate Ibrahima Hamidou Dème, who resigned from the judiciary amid the controversy surrounding the independence of the judiciary under Macky Sall’s regime, argues that transparency, sound management, and good governance should be reflected in everyday actions and that Senegalese people deserve better than past practices.
Dème stresses that “there is no alternative to the respect for the principles Ousman Sonko and his coalition defended yesterday. Those principles must remain a categorical requirement for real change.”
Beyond the immediate political fallout, the controversy has also reignited broader conversations about how the trappings of power—like private jets—sit uneasily alongside the country’s limited resources and the daily struggles of ordinary Senegalese.
As calls for accountability grow, the Prime Minister’s office has yet to release an official statement on the matter, leaving room for speculation and further fueling the debate.
