Renowned Gambian human rights defender Madi Jobarteh has issued a blistering statement condemning Senegal for granting refuge to deposed Guinea-Bissau strongman Umaro Sissoco Embaló and accusing ECOWAS of perpetuating a “disgraceful culture of impunity” across West Africa.
“It is troubling and unacceptable that the Government of Senegal has chosen to provide refuge to former President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, an autocrat whose tenure was defined by corruption, repression, and blatant unconstitutional conduct,” Jobarteh declared. “Senegal must immediately tell the world under what conditions it has accepted this autocrat in Dakar.”
Jobarteh, a leading voice against authoritarianism in the region, singled out Embaló’s unilateral extension of his mandate from February to November 2025 as a flagrant power grab that should have triggered automatic ECOWAS sanctions. Instead, he said, the former leader has been welcomed with open arms in the Senegalese capital.
The activist drew stark parallels with past cases, naming Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaoré and The Gambia’s own Yahya Jammeh as beneficiaries of the same “escape routes and comfortable sanctuaries” that have shielded dictators from accountability for decades.
“This entrenched culture of impunity is why West Africa remains trapped in instability, insecurity, and underdevelopment more than sixty years after independence,” Jobarteh warned.
He called on ECOWAS to urgently reform and empower the ECOWAS Community Court to prosecute sitting and former heads of state for constitutional violations and human rights abuses, ending reliance on back-room political deals.
Addressing Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye directly, Jobarteh insisted that the country that once delivered justice against Chadian dictator Hissène Habré must not now become a haven for another perpetrator. “Embaló is not a victim; he is a perpetrator who destroyed lives in Guinea-Bissau. He deserves no special treatment.”
“No political leader should ever again be allowed to escape justice,” Jobarteh said. “West African citizens have endured enough. Justice for Guinea-Bissau is justice for West Africa. No sanctuary for autocrats.”
Civil society networks across the region have begun amplifying Jobarteh’s statement, with protests planned in several capitals.
