In a decision that marked a turning point in the case against Senegalese justice, Fatou Kiné Cissé, businesswoman and director of Tahar Projects, a company specialized in the sale of weapons, was released on Tuesday, 18 November 2025. This liberation came after a significant reduction of his sentence. The case dates back to April 2025, when Fatou Kiné Cissé was placed under a mandat de dépôt for the dissemination of false news. She had publicly warned of potential threats to the security of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, citing controversial arms contracts involving influential personalities. These statements had led to her arrest by the Sûreté urbaine, and she had been sentenced in première instance, le 17 juillet 2025, à deux ans de prison dont un an ferme by le tribunal correctionnel de Dakar. The applicant’s lawyers, including Ms Seyba Danfakha, did not hesitate to lodge an appeal and a request for provisional release, citing in particular the state of health of their client. A first application had been rejected, but the Court of Appeal finally reduced the sentence to three months’ imprisonment for a period that Fatou Kiné Cissé had already served in provisional detention since April 2025. The news of his release quickly circulated on social networks.
Fatou Kiné Cissé has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Senegalese businesswoman.
