Senegalese university students say death of protester dashes hope for change

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Thousands of students left Senegal’s top public university Tuesday after authorities closed campus housing following a student’s death during protests over unpaid financial aid.

Abdoulaye Ba, a second-year medical student, died during protests at Cheikh Anta Diop University in the capital Dakar, authorities said.

Burned cars and broken barricades still littered the university grounds on Tuesday following clashes a day before between the police and students. A video posted on social media Monday night shows flames and smoke coming from a four-story student housing building as students try to flee, some jumping from windows.

Ba died in a nearby hospital from severe head injuries, according to Cheilh 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 the police in his room. Several other students repeated the allegation.

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 stipends averaging about 40,000 CFA francs ($73) per month, which is the only source of income for many of them.

The Senegalese government said in a statement Monday 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 while unverified video of a student throwing a cocktail Molotov played on a screen near him.

“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 said during a news conference.

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

Protests over stipends

Students at Cheikh Anta Diop University, one of the largest in West Africa with around 80,000 students, began protesting in early December over unpaid stipends. Student anger increased when university authorities closed campus cafeterias after students refused to pay for meals, which are often paid for using food stamps

Senegal’s prolonged 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.

The unpaid stipends are mainly due to delays in the academic calendar following several university closures of in recent years following protests in support of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, which caused disruptions in payment schedules.

Promises by Sonko and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to tackle corruption and improve management of natural resources raised the hopes of many young Senegalese.

When Sonko was arrested in 2021 and later barred from running in the country's 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.

Students feel betrayed

A reform agenda put forth by a new government, which took office in April 2024, has quickly 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 public frustration grows and 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 of her peers who haven’t received stipends in almost a year.

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

“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 the realities and grievances of the students.

“Their kids are not even in Senegal, there 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, said the stipends are “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 also has lost faith in the national leadership, including Sonko.

“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 the extended closures in recent years caused delays in the academic year and issues with stipends, which ultimately contributed to the student’s death.

By closing student housing late Monday, which forced many students to leave the capital and return to the countryside, the authorities are repeating the same mistakes that led to delays in the academic calendar and caused the unpaid stipends, 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.