A student’s death in Senegal protest reveals anger over leaders’ broken promises

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A student’s death during protests this week at Senegal ’s top public university reflects growing frustration among the country’s youth, who accuse the government that they helped to put in office of leaving sweeping promises unfulfilled.

Authorities closed the campus of Cheikh Anta Diop University in the capital, Dakar, on Tuesday, a day after the death of Abdoulaye Ba, a second-year medical student, in the unrest over unpaid financial aid.

A video posted on social media Monday night showed flames and smoke coming from a four-story student housing building as students tried to flee, with some jumping from windows. Burned cars and broken barricades later littered the university grounds.

Ba died in a nearby hospital from severe head injuries, according to Cheikh Atab Sagne, president of the Student Association of the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry. He said Ba did not participate in the protests but was severely beaten by police in his room. Several other students repeated the allegation.

The Senegalese government has said in a statement that “serious events” led to the student’s death, without providing details.

Minister of the Interior Mouhamadou Bamba Cissé on Tuesday promised an inquiry and expressed his condolences to Ba’s family.

“On the ground, there were acts of violence observed on both sides, including acts that were seen coming from the defense and security forces,” Cissé told a news conference, while unverified video of a student throwing a Molotov cocktail played on a screen nearby.

Amnesty International Senegal and several rights group have denounced a “disproportionate use of force by police” in a joint statement.

Protests over stipends

Senegal’s university calendar has been repeatedly disrupted for several years by prolonged closures following periods of unrest, sometimes lasting more than nine months and causing academic years to overlap.

Students often go months without receiving government stipends to support their education averaging about 40,000 CFA francs ($73) per month, which are the only source of income for many of them.

The latest protests at Cheikh Anta Diop University, one of the largest in West Africa with around 80,000 students, began in early December over unpaid stipends. Student anger increased when university authorities closed campus cafeterias after students refused to pay for meals.

Senegal’s economic difficulties have deepened the daily struggles of many people, with young Senegalese among the hardest hit. About 75% of the country’s population is under 35.

Students contributed to university closures in recent years with protests in support of current Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who were opposition leaders at the time. Their pledges to tackle corruption raised the hopes of many young Senegalese, helping to bring them to power.

When Sonko was arrested in 2021 and barred from running in the 2024 presidential election, massive protests erupted at Cheikh Anta Diop University, leading to violent clashes with security forces that left at least 65 people dead, according to rights groups.

Sonko’s lesser-known ally Faye ran for president instead, and won.

Students feel betrayed

A reform agenda put forth by the new government that took office in April 2024 has run into obstacles.

A 2025 government audit revealed a larger-than-reported debt inherited from the previous administration. Talks with the International Monetary Fund over a new financial program have stalled as the nation’s fiscal outlook worsens.

Khadija Ndiaye, a second-year history student, said she has not received a stipend for three months. But the 19-year-old considered herself lucky compared with some peers who haven’t received stipends in almost a year.

Ndiaye said she was a staunch supporter of Sonko but now feels betrayed by the government response to the student protests.

“We were just kids, but we were fighting for him. I can’t believe he is doing this to us today,” Ndiaye said. “He said in his campaign videos that a student can no longer survive without a stipend. It is not normal today for him to stand before us and say that a student can survive without a stipend. It is contradictory.”

Ndiaye said the government seems disconnected from students’ realities and grievances.

“(Officials’) kids are not even in Senegal, they’re in the United States, Europe, anywhere,” she said. “You’re never going to see the son of a minister or a president here at the university.”

Ibrahima Diatta, a 23-year-old literature student, called the stipends “de facto salaries” for students, with many relying on them to support their families. Like many students, Diatta moved to the capital from the countryside for his studies and is one of his family’s main breadwinners.

Diatta has lost faith in the national leadership.

“Sonko and Faye were chosen by the youth who protested, and now they have done the same thing to us that their predecessor did,” Diatta said. “I think this serves as a lesson for us young people that we have to wake up to the fact that nobody is coming to save us.”

David Célestin Faye, secretary-general of Senegal’s main university professors’ union, told The Associated Press that extended closures in recent years caused delays in the academic year and issues with stipends. He said that ultimately contributed to the student’s death.

By closing student housing after this week’s protests, which forced many students to leave the capital and return to the countryside, the authorities are repeating the same mistakes, Faye said.

“Senegal has decided to grant stipends to all students. It must take responsibility for that choice. Students are not a burden, they are an investment that must be supported,” he said.

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This version corrects the spelling of the student association president.