Relatives of the defendants denounce “a violation of the rights of the defense”
At the beginning of 2026, in the suburbs of Dakar (Pikine-Guédiawaye), a homosexual scandal shook Senegal. Known as the “Pope Cheick Diallo Case”, this file concerns alleged acts “unnatural acts, association of criminals, voluntary transmission of HIV/AIDS, and money laundering”. After searches that led to the seizure of condoms and lubricants, several people, whose cases of HIV positivity were detected, were taken into custody.
Three months after the outbreak of this case, the daily Les Echos maintains that “more than 90 people have been arrested to date, but to date, about fifteen defendants have not been heard on the merits”. Faced with this situation, relatives of the defendants denounce “a violation of the rights of the defense”.
The entourage of the suspects also denounces a violation of the presumption of innocence, with excerpts from the hearings that are constantly exposed on social networks and in the press. “In the search for evidence for the manifestation of the truth, justice tramples on the rules, according to them,” Les Echos always reports.
As a reminder, the Pape Cheick Diallo case (name of a famous TV host) allowed the arrest of several public figures. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, at the podium of the National Assembly, had also denounced the violation of the secrets of the investigation and called for the opening of a disciplinary investigation.
