Concern, anger mount as internet and television signal cut in Senegal
Access to mobile internet and a television signal were cut in Dakar on Monday, as Senegal grapples with the fallout after President Macky Sall postponed this month's election. Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) says it is extremely concerned about the latest development.
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Many users in the capital said they had been unable to access mobile data on their phones since the morning.
The Sonatel workers' union, Senegal's principal telephone operator, had on Sunday anticipated a possible blackout, saying it "disapproves of any idea by the Senegalese government to cut off or restrict the internet".
The government already suspended mobile data last June amid high tensions in the country.
Authorities in Senegal also suspended the signal of a private television station after accusing it of inciting violence.
The station affected by the Communication Ministry’s decision is Walf TV, the television broadcast service of the privately owned media group Wal Fadjri.
Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) said it is concerned about the suspension of Internet access via mobile data by the authorities while the country is facing protests against postponement of the presidential election.
"The right to info must be guaranteed as well as the safety of journalists covering the news.
'Very worried'
Sadibou Marong, head of office for sub-Saharan Africa at RSF, told RFI that the media watchdog had recorded 18 incidents against the press between mid-2022 and mid-2023.
"Most of them were related to elections," he added, saying that despite Senegal's historic press freedom, Sall has pushed for the persecution of journalists.
"We are very, very worried," Marong said.
Last month, Human Rights Watch denounced Senegal's repression of opposition leaders, media and civil society, claiming that "the authorities have been filling prisons for the last three years with hundreds of political opponents".
In response Senegal's government had insisted that "all freedoms are exercised without hindrance".The Committed to Protect Journalists (CPJ) added that "Internet shutdowns leave journalists struggling to report the news in a timely manner, to fact check misinformation, and to contact sources safely," the organisation said.
The organisations called on Senegalese authorities to immediately restore access to mobile data.
Senegal's parliament began debating a proposal to postpone the presidential poll for up to six months.
The polls had been set for 25 February, until President Macky Sall gave a speech on Saturday to annoucement this postponement.
Opposition figures have called for further demonstration outside the parliament.
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