– DAKAR, Senegal
A Senegalese court has sentenced three TikTok content creators to prison after finding them guilty of insulting President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The ruling, announced this week, has raised concerns among free speech advocates amidst a period of high political tension in the country.
The influencers are linked to the online media channel Feenal Digital. Some observers have associated their work with support for former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, leader of the PASTEF party. Sonko recently broke his alliance with President Faye who founded his own political party just weeks ago deepening divisions within the former ruling coalition.
Mandoumbe Diop, known on social media as Lamignou Darou and the most popular of the three, with over 500,000 TikTok subscribers was sentenced to three months in prison without the possibility of a suspended sentence. Magueye Diaw known as Oustaz Thiep and Moustapha Ndiaye known as Ndiaye Touba received two-month sentences without parole. The latter two were also fined 500,000 CFA francs, equivalent to approximately 800 US dollars.
Their legal representative stated that the TikTok videos in question were intended as humorous commentary and did not warrant criminal prosecution. The three men had been in custody since the previous week in connection with a widely circulated video containing severe insults and expressions of ill will directed at individuals accused of abandoning PASTEF’s political vision. The defense argued that the material did not directly mention the president or refer to his official office.
Observers have described these convictions as part of a broader trend of legal actions against online critics in Senegal. The case highlights the growing friction between the current administration and the former prime minister's supporters following their political split. Neither the communication channel nor the official government representatives have issued an immediate public response.