Senegal is making big moves as an African country towards the fight to end corruption, we would say. Corruption has grown across the continent and resulted to a menace that needs to be quickly eradicated before it consumes us. For this reason, Senegal has taken legal action against its former IAAF chair, who was found guilty of faced money laundering and corruption cases. This was after it was found out that he allowed Russian athletes to compete despite their positive test results. Lamine Diack is said to have received a bribe from the Russians.
About Lamine Diack
There is no much history of Diack. However, Diack has played quite significant leadership roles in the Senegal state. For 16 years, he served as the head of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), currently going by world athletics. One would speculate him to be an honest person to maintain such a position for such a long time. We can’t judge a book by its cover.
The charges that were pressed against him have posed a great deal of mistrust over his leadership course. His lawyers are determined to prove the accusations null. One his lawyers, Simon Ndiaye, came out to defend his client, terming the verdicts as inhuman and unjust. He further claims that the court is only using Lamine as a “scapegoat.” Diack was very hesitant to give his remarks concerning the accusations as he left the court. Meanwhile, his lawyers confirmed to appeal for their client to keep him out of prison.
His Son found guilty
Well, it seems corruption cases run in the family. Diacks son, Papa Massata Diack, was charged with money laundering following evidence of 15 million dollars channeled to the son’s companies. The former IAAF marketing consultant allegedly managed to pull this off by selling TV rights and other transactions and cutting off commissions and contract funds.
He was f guilty by the court and was sentenced to five years in prison in his absentia. Additionally, he was charged with a fine of 1 million Euros, which translates to approximately 1.17 million dollars. He was forced to come back home after the investigations were opened in France. He states that the accusations are not valid and pose a big lie in world sports history in his defense.
Senegal’s take
According to Wahany Sambou from Africa, news in Senega reports very devastation among the Senegalese netizens. And as a result, the accusations have given rise to the Senegalese questioning why the European Justice System has not dedicated their time and resources to investigate FIFA corruption-related cases. Meanwhile, Papa Massata remains adamant about appearing to the French courts. His lawyers advised him that he will most likely be walking into the French officials’ hands as he will be met with an unfair trial.
More:
- Corruption Alert: Nigerian Suspect Collapses amid an Interrogation in Parliament
- An author in Liberia is teaching children about corruption.
