March 23, 2015 – Karim Wade, son of former President of Senegal, Abdulaye Wade has been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for corruptly enriching himself while his father was president.
The special court which convicted him also ordered him to pay 138 billion CFA France to government.
Karim Wade has been in jail since April 2013. Ruling on the matter, judge Henri Gregoire Diop said Wade had hidden away funds in offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Panama.
Karim, 46, did not attend the final session of the trial except his father. The opposition party was however not happy with the sentence. “This verdict is shameful,” a woman shouted in court.
Karim Wade, who staged a four-day hunger strike in January had protested that he is victim of a political witch hunt.
“This is a historic decision not only for Senegal but also for the whole of Africa and all those who defend responsibility, citizenship and good governance,” Simon Ndiaye, one of the state’s lawyers said.
