2020 in Senegal

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2020 Timeline of Senegalese history

Events in the year 2020 in Senegal.

Incumbents

• President: Macky Sall (since April 2, 2012) [1]
• Prime Minister: Mahammed Dionne

Events

January and February

• January 8: West Africa's largest wind farm opens in Taiba NDiaye, Tivaouane Department.[2]
• January 9: Soccer player Sadio Mané (Liverpool F.C.) apologizes for missing a planned January 11 at the Museum of Black Civilisations in Dakar after being named the African Footballer of the Year.[3]
• January 14: Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, president of the Senegalese Olympic Committee, promises Dakar will be ready to host the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics.[4]
• January 15: Senegalese-born American rapper Akon (Locked Up) announces that plans for his new city, called "Akon City" and located near the Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport have been finalized. The new city will trade exclusively in his digital coin Akoin.[5]
• January 15: The office of Karamba Diaby, who was born in Marsassoum Arrondissement, in Sédhiou Region, a member of Bundestag (English: Parliament) from Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, is shot at.[6]
• January 18: Senegal recognizes Cuban contributions to medicine in an exhibition at the Ousmane Sembène Cultural Center in Dakar.[7]
• February 2 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces a trip to Senegal this week.[8]
• February 6 – President Macky Sall said earlier this week that Senegal could not match "big countries" in organizing emergency evacuations from China in relation to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, pointing to the charter flights, medical personnel and quarantine facilities necessary for such an operation.[9]
• February 8 – President Sall is awarded the 2020 Sunhak Peace Prize.[10]
• February 12 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticizes Senegal's criminalization of homosexuality during a visit with President Sall; Sall says, 'we’re comfortable with our laws.'[11]
• February 14 – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Dakar for an official visit.[12]
• February 20 – 29: 2020 African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament, Diamniadio, Senegal

March and April

• March 11
  • The Pasteur Institute of Dakar and DiaTropix team up with Mologic, a British biotech firm, to develop “point of need” test kits that can diagnose COVID-19 in 10 minutes.[13]
  • 20,500 Dakar residents petition to make the former airport into a park.[14]
• March 15 – Senegal imposes travel restrictions, bans cruise ships, and closes schools for three weeks in response to the coronavirus. They also ban public gatherings for a month including Muslim and Christian pilgrimages.[15]
• April 14 – Hundreds of street children and teenagers are forced to a refuge north of Dakar as fear of COVID-19 spreads.[16]

May and June

• May 12 – The government eases restrictions one day after COVID-19 infections increase by 30%.[17]
• May 27 – Senegal unilaterally ends its tax agreement with Mauritius.[18]
• June 2 – COVID-19 pandemic: Educational authorities decide against reopening high schools for 550,000 children after a cluster of coronavirus infections is detected among teachers in the Ziguinchor Region, Casamance.[19]
• June 3 – COVID-19 pandemic: Protests against the government's handling of the pandemic break out in Dakar, Touba, and Kaolack. Senegal has confirmed almost 4,000 cases of COVID-19, including 45 deaths, and thousands are unemployed.[20]

Scheduled and predicted events

Further information: Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and List of events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

• April (TBA): The Cathedral of Saint Louis, the first Christian Church in West Africa, located in the city of Saint-Louis, Senegal, is scheduled to reopen after being closed for repairs in November 2018.[21]
• May 28 – June 28: 14th Dak'Art fair with the theme I'Ndaffa/Forger/Out of Fire (a trilingual take on the word "forge" in Serer, French and English) at the IFAN Museum of African Arts in Dakar [22]
• July 8 – International air flights are set to restart.[23]

Deaths

• January 17 – Charles Carrère, 91, poet[24]
• March 27 – Jacques F. Acar, 88, Senegalese-born French doctor[25]
• March 31 – Pape Diouf, 68, journalist.[26]
• July 3 – Mamadou Bamba Ndiaye, 71, politician.[27]
• July 21 – Cheikh Sadibou Fall, 69, politician, Minister of the Interior (2004).[28]
• August 4 – Moustapha Sourang, 71, politician.[29]

See also

• 2020 in West Africa
• 2020 in politics and government
• COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
• 2020s
• 2020s in political history
• Politics of Senegal
• National Assembly (Senegal)
• Economic Community of West African States
• African Union
• Community of Sahel–Saharan States

References

1. The World Factbook: Africa: Senegal Archived 2018-01-22 at the Wayback Machine CIA Library, retrieved 18 Jan 2020
2. "Senegal completes largest wind farm in West Africa". Archdye.com. Jan 8, 2020.
3. Liverpool's Sadio Mane apologises for missing Senegal visit after awards ceremony BBC Sport, 9 Jan 2020
4. Jose Naranjo (16 Jan 2020). "Dakar se pone al día para la primera cita olímpica africana" [Dakar catches up for the first African Olympic event]. El Pais Internacional (in Spanish). Madrid. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
5. Amir Vera (14 Jan 2020). "Akon created his own city in Senegal called 'Akon City'". CNN Travel. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
6. Ana Carbajosa (16 Jan 2020). "El tiroteo a la oficina de un diputado nacido en Senegal sacude Alemania" [Shooting at the office of a deputy born in Senegal shakes Germany]. El Pais Internacional (in Spanish). Madrid. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
7. "Reconocen en Senegal aportes de cooperación médica de Cuba" [Cuba’s contributions to medical cooperation in Senegal are recognized]. Prensa Latina (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba. 18 Jan 2020.
8. Trudeau to visit Ethiopia, Senegal and Germany this week Archived 2020-02-05 at the Wayback Machine CTV News, 2 Feb 2020
9. Africans in Wuhan: Homesick and fearful of coronavirus Archived 2020-02-07 at the Wayback Machine by Clarissa Herrmann, DW (English), 6 Feb 2020
10. "Senegal President Macky Sall and former President of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Munib A. Younan Selected As the 2020 Sunhak Peace Prize Laureates". allAfrica. Feb 5, 2020. Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved Feb 8, 2020.
11. Canadian PM Trudeau raises gay rights with Senegal leader Archived 2020-02-25 at the Wayback Machine By BABACAR DIONE, AP, 12 Feb 2020
12. US secretary of state heads to Africa after long absence Archived 2020-02-15 at the Wayback Machine AP, 14 Feb 2020
13. A Senegalese innovation lab is helping the UK develop a 10-minute coronavirus test kit Archived 2020-03-23 at the Wayback Machine Quartz Africa, 11 March 2020
14. Dakar petitions for 'Central Park' to stem concrete sprawl Archived 2020-03-12 at the Wayback Machine by Elimane NDAO, AFP/Yahoo! News, 11 March 2020
15. Several African nations roll out measures to fight virus Archived 2020-03-26 at the Wayback Machine by MOGOMOTSI MAGOME, Associated Press, 15 March 2020
16. AFP, 14 Apr 2020
17. "Senegal: Govt Eases COVID Restrictions Tuesday, a Day After Surge in Cases". allAfrica.com. 12 May 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
18. Fitzgibbon, Will (27 May 2020). "Mauritius: Senegal Nixes 'Unbalanced' Tax Treaty With Mauritius". allAfrica.com. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
19. "Senegal delays reopening schools after new COVID-19 infections". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
20. "Coronavirus protests spread to Senegal's capital". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
21. El renacimiento del primer templo cristiano en África Occidental Archived 2019-12-27 at the Wayback Machine El Pais (Madrid), 26 Dec 2019
22. Allyssia Alleyne (Dec 27, 2019). "Africa makes a scene: Best contemporary art fairs of 2020". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
23. News, A. B. C. "Africa starts opening airspace even as COVID-19 cases climb". ABC News. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
24. Le poète Charles Carrère n'est plus Archived 2020-02-06 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
25. Un grand patron de la microbiologie (in French)
26. "De nombreux joueurs réagissent à la mort de Pape Diouf" [Many players react to the death of Pape Diouf] (in French). March 31, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
27. Le palu emporte Mamadou Bamba Ndiaye, 71 ans, ex-ministre des Affaires religieuses de Wade (in French)
28. Macky Sall : "Cheikh Sadibou Fall était un homme politique engagé, un intellectuel d'une grande civilité" (in French)
29. Décès de l'ancien ministre de l'Education nationale, Moustapha Sourang (médias) (in French)