A source close to the situation told AFP that a special prosecutor in Senegal on Monday formally charged a previous state secretary with embezzling Covid money. One of five former officials facing allegations of corruption, including the use of money, to battle the pandemic is Salimata Diop, who served as the minister for girls under former president Macky Sall. According to the source, Diop was accused of involvement in embezzlement and released after paying parole of about$ 97,750, which confirms regional media reports. On May 2, her political immunity from prosecution was lifted, allowing the proceeding to proceed. Along with the original ministers for community development, mines, professional development, and justice, Diop is being investigated. A former minister for community growth, Amadou Mansour Faye, is accused of discharging$ 4.5 million from a bank established to combat the North American nation’s Covid-19 crisis in 2020-21, according to a report from the national council. The national assembly of Senegal had earlier this month approved a particular court’s request to set up a special court to look into the five former ministers. In an election next year, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, president, pledged to fight corruption, especially from the previous administration, led by Sall. The opposition in Senegal has referred to the event as a “witchhunt.”
