Dakar has been the scene of a quiet but brutal political drama. President Macky Sall has sacked his prime minister, Amadou Ba, ending months of speculation about a rift at the top of Senegal's government.
The official statement was brief. Terse even. But those in the know in Dakar's political circles say this was a long time coming. Ba, a loyalist who served as foreign minister before taking the top job, had reportedly clashed with Sall over economic policy and the president's third-term ambitions.
The president's office cited "strategic differences" for the dismissal. But insiders point to a more personal fallout. Ba is believed to have resisted Sall's push for a constitutional change that could see him run for a third term in 2024, a move that has sparked protests and opposition accusations of a power grab.
Sall, ever the pragmatist, wasted no time. Within hours, he appointed a new PM: former finance minister Amadou Oury Ba, no relation. The new prime minister is a technocrat, known for his close ties to the IMF and World Bank. A safe pair of hands, but also a Sall loyalist through and through.
The sacking is a reminder that African politics remains a game of personalities, not institutions. Senegal, often hailed as a beacon of democracy in West Africa, is showing its authoritarian underbelly. Sall's third-term bid has united opposition parties and civil society groups in rare solidarity. But the president seems unperturbed. He controls the security apparatus and, for now, the economy is ticking over.
What happens next is a test of Senegal's democratic institutions. The National Assembly is dominated by Sall's party. But the street is restless. Protests have been met with a heavy hand. The new PM's first job will be to steady the ship. If he can't, this could be the beginning of the end for Sall's decade-long rule.
