Senegal’s former president Macky Sall has called on the government to repeal an amnesty law covering protest-related violence between 2021 and 2024.
Speaking in a video posted on social media, Sall defended his record and urged renewed scrutiny of past events, insisting accountability requires legal reversal.
The amnesty law, adopted in March 2024 during the final days of his presidency, was intended to ease political tensions after years of unrest.
Deadly clashes erupted during confrontations between Sall’s administration and opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, who has since risen to become prime minister.
According to compiled figures from journalists and researchers, at least 65 people were killed during the protests, many of them young demonstrators struck by gunfire.
New authorities have reported an even higher toll, saying more than 80 lives were lost amid the unrest and widespread street violence.
Sall rejected allegations of responsibility for the deaths, describing claims against him as a distortion of reality and politically driven narrative.
He argued that revisiting the events would require repeal of the amnesty law so investigations and prosecutions could proceed without legal barriers.
“If people want to revisit the events, the amnesty law must be repealed,” he said, adding that cases would then resurface.
His remarks come amid continued debate over justice and reconciliation as Senegal’s new leadership pledges to uncover the truth and support victims.
Sall is also seeking international office as a candidate to become UN secretary-general, though his bid has faced opposition from several African Union members.