General Souleymane Kandé will have to settle for the post of Military Attaché in India, if the Supreme Court approves his assignment. It appears he got this assignment because he went against Prime Minister Sonko's wishes.
By Malick GAYE – This was one of the last bad moves Macky Sall made before leaving power. In decision n°2024-873 taken a few hours after he stepped down from power, the Head of State determined the attributes and missions of the military attachés assigned to the embassy. We note in article 10 of the decree that it is stipulated that a General Officer can be appointed for this embassy's Military Attaché mission. If General Kandé persists in refusing his appointment, he should also condemn Macky Sall's decision.
Perhaps he can remember that his status is not only that of a General Officer, but because he once carried out the function of Army Chief of Staff, he is an Army General, so he is not fit to carry out his duties as a Military Attaché.
Worse, article 7 of the decree, which provides the classification of diplomatic posts, underlines that New Delhi's diplomatic posts are placed in the 5th and final category, namely countries with “clear security interests”. The document stipulates that the classification, “which must be evaluated periodically, is subject to the assessment of the Minister responsible for the Armed Forces, with advice from the Ministry responsible for Foreign Affairs”. At least for now, the Army Chief of Staff is being sent to the world's last remote region, where Senegal's security interests do not exist. Forgotten until retirement? However, he still has many years to serve, as he is only 53 years old…
We also know more about what earned him this sanction. The site afriqueconfidentielle.com highlighted in its post yesterday that “in a confidential letter number 0431/MFA dated 16 May 2024 entitled “Evaluation of military cooperation agreements with France, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom”, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko asked the Minister of the TNI, Staff TNI General, and the Cooperation Sector to convey to him, “before the end of May 2024”, the proposed revision of the military agreement with the four countries.
Ousmane Sonko instructed them to make recommendations that could lead to the rejection of the military agreement. Le Quotidien can independently verify the veracity of this information.
Upon receipt of this letter, Cemga handed over to its collaborators to respond. Like many other officers, Souleymane Kandé refused to comply with this request, arguing that it was not the PM's prerogative to question military agreements voted on by the National Assembly, or to give instructions to the Army, which was part of the Army. domain belongs to the Head of State. Therefore Souleymane Kandé sent a letter that reasoned and argued on this matter.
Ousmane Sonko did not appreciate this response at all, which he took as a personal insult. Is this why he asked Bassirou Diomaye Faye for his head?
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