FARBA SENGHOR-GUILTY SAYS THE PROSECUTOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAKAR 001100 SENSITIVE SIPDIS PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/AE AND INR/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI ECON PINR KDEM SG SUBJECT: FARBA SENGHOR-GUILTY SAYS THE PROSECUTOR REF: DAKAR 1067 Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR MARCIA BERNICAT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In an impromptu fifteen minute meeting with Ousmane Diagne, the prosecutor who investigated former Transport and Cultural Affairs Minister Farba Senghor and his acolytes' alleged involvement in the trashing of two Dakar newsrooms, he told us that as far as the evidence is concerned Farba Senghor is guilty of masterminding the attack. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Characterizing as "highly unusual" and "out of the norm" President Abdoulaye Wade's decree stating that only the High Court of Justice was the competent body to hear the case against Senghor, Ousmane Diagne said that he chose to put the Head of State in a position where he had to fire Senghor by saying in a news conference that he (Diagne) could only investigate Senghor if the President allowed him to do so. He then went on to say that as far as he was concerned the case was investigated thoroughly and that there was no doubt in his mind that Senghor was guilty of orchestrating the attack. He was disdainful of Senghor, who during his questioning repeatedly denied that he knew the people involved in the attack even after he was presented with phone records indicating that he placed two calls the night prior to the assault, one for 1 minute and one for 4 minutes, to the ringleader of the attackers. Too Much Responsibility -------------- ¶3. (C) Diagne judges that Senghor is incompetent and a danger to the stability of the country: "He has been given boots that are too large for him to wear. He is a problem for the stability of this country; this why I went ahead with the case despite pressure from the Ministry of Justice". As a prosecutor, Diagne has amongst his responsibilities the task of ensuring law and order in the country: "For a long time now Senghor has been involved in activities that are both detrimental to the image of Senegal, but that have also caused a lot of problems for the President. He is man without finesse." Diagne added that, aside from Senghor, all of the accused in the case have already been sentenced and that he has completed his report on Senghor and transmitted it to the Prosecutor-General of the Court of Appeals. The Prosecutor-General will then give it to the Minister of Justice, who will initiate Senghor's prosecution by the High Court of Justice. Diagne would not predict the outcome of that case, but pointed out wryly that this was a "political court". BERNICAT