Students turn on Senegalese government over Dakar university violence

Students were seen packing up and leaving Cheik Anta Diop University in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, on Wednesday following the death of a fellow scholar amid protests over grant arrears.

They have been rallying over the issue for years, punctuated by sporadic clashes with law enforcement.

That violence came to a head Monday with the death of a second-year medical student in circumstances that remain unclear, during a police intervention that has sparked outrage across the country.

The unrest reflected growing frustration among the country’s youth who accuse the government they helped bring to power of not living up to their promises.

With the university gates and student residences closed, many are heading home, unsure when they will be back.

"It's a disgrace to Africa. In my country, they're killing students," said Boubacar, a 23-year-old geography student, who was waiting with about 30 others for a bus back home to the Matam region of northern Senegal.

"I saw law enforcement officers beating students," said the young man, whose name has been changed for his protection due to the sensitive nature of the topic.

Like many young people in the country, he supported the current Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and his Pastef party when they were in the opposition, before coming to power in 2024.

Students were at the heart of brutally repressed protests in support of Sonko that shook Senegal from 2021 to 2024.

With 75 per cent of Senegal's population under the age of 35, young people played a massive role in bringing this government to power, moved by his party's promise of a break with the old system.

Now they say they feel betrayed by Sonko and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye whose pledge to tackle corruption had raised the hopes of many young people.

"This is a tragedy we really did not expect. Especially with this government, which we supported until the very end of the struggle, we expected something different,” said student Demba Naguel Diallo.

The president of the Student Association of the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry, Cheikh Atab Sagne, claims Abdoulaye Ba did not take part in the protests but was beaten by police in his room.

He said the medical student died in a nearby hospital from severe head injuries.

The government, in a statement, said “serious events” had led to the student’s death, without providing details and has promised an inquiry.

Meanwhile, rights groups have denounced the disproportionate use of force by security forces during the protests.