“You are killing our sons”: in Senegal, migrant smugglers in the dock

It was a little after 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 24, when the prosecutor of the high court of Mbour, 70 km southeast of Dakar, suddenly raised his voice. “It is because of people like you that immigration tragedies continue to occur, he growls in front of a packed courtroom. You kill our sons and you want to continue your life as if nothing happened.”

Facing him, in the dock, Cheikh Sow, 35, appears even more feverish. His legs are shaking.. For an hour he has been confusedly struggling to answer the following question: did he participate, directly or indirectly, in the organization of migrant trafficking? “These people you say you hosted for a few days, did you also guide them to a canoe leaving for Spain?”asks the prosecutor. ” Yes… “, mumbles the accused. After several minutes of heated exchanges and a shrug of the shoulders, he finally admits to “responsibilities” And “ask everyone for forgiveness”.

That morning, in addition to Cheikh Sow, sixteen defendants appeared in court in various cases of “migrant trafficking”, “attempted migrant trafficking” and “fraud”. of migrants. In the face of the successive tragedies of illegal migration, this hearing has a particular resonance. The last one was on Sunday: 38 lifeless bodies were found on board a pirogue adrift 70 km off the coast of Dakar. The prosecutor does not fail to recall this: “Did you see that canoe found adrift? That's what your actions lead to!”

A “relentless hunt”

Accused, civil parties, representatives of the State and the judiciary: all know that clandestine departures from Mbour take place a few hundred meters from the court, mainly in the fishing district of Tefess. On September 8, at least 39 people died in the sinking of an overloaded ship. Dozens of others are still missing. Three days later, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected on March 24 and in turn confronted with the succession of such tragedies at sea, went to the scene to support the bereaved families. The Head of State then announced a “relentless stalking” smugglers and the establishment of a toll-free number to report them.

Cheikh Sow was arrested on September 19 after a candidate for emigration, Omar Sène, reported him. Their pirogue had had to disembark its passengers due to an engine problem. Questioned by the president of the court, the young candidate for exile spilled the beans, taking advantage of the principle of immunity for victims of migrant trafficking provided for by law. He recounts his arrival from his native region of Fatick, his accommodation for five days by Cheikh Sow, the transfer in an old bush taxi on the beach of Tefess, the embarkation on a small pirogue, then a larger one, other passengers (“a hundred”according to him), the phones confiscated…

Not forgetting the amount paid: 480,000 CFA francs (or 732 euros). “He then asked me for 300,000 CFA francs more to be able to try the crossing again.”says Omar Sène. Cornered, the accused is nevertheless seeking clemency from the court, acknowledging that he is a link in the smuggling network, but not its main organizer. The hearing will thus have made it possible to establish some chains of responsibility. Alongside Cheikh Sow, another young man, Mame Mor Ndiaye, a 22-year-old taxi driver, is accused of complicity in the same trafficking for having driven the candidates to migration.

“In a sector, there are at least four types of profile”explains Commissioner Omar Boun Khatab Guèye, head of the National Division for the Fight against Migrant Trafficking and Similar Practices (DNLT): “There are recruiters who go to meet the migrants, hosts, the organizer who collects all the money and organizes the trip, then the captains who will make up the crew of the pirogue while sailing.” One of the difficulties is catching them all at once.

Penalties not very dissuasive

According to the DNLT, in the space of one year, the number of pirogues intercepted off the coast of Senegal has more than doubled, from 25 in 2023 to 61 in the first half of 2024 alone. Arrests of suspected smugglers leading to deferral have also jumped, from 127 in the first half of 2023 to 210 in 2024. “The phenomenon is linked to the significant increase in departures, but also to a professionalization of the Senegalese police, with now seven DNLT branches established throughout the territory”reports Commissioner Guèye.

According to the law of May 10, 2005, migrant trafficking is an offense punishable by five to ten years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from 1 million to 5 million CFA francs (1,524 to 7,622 euros). “In reality, the penalties are much less severe and therefore less dissuasive.”observes Oumar Sène, a defense lawyer based in Mbour, who advocates criminalizing migrant trafficking with a ten-year security period: “I recently defended someone who received 120 million CFA francs [183 000 euros] to transport migrants. I can already tell you that he is not going to stop with six months in prison…”

In the case of Cheikh Sow, the prosecutor requested two years in prison, including one year in prison, for “attempted migrant trafficking.” And one year, including six months in prison, for the young taxi driver Mame Mor Ndiaye, accused of “complicity.” The verdict will be announced on 1^er october.