Young man agrees to sex act for $3.57, instead gets 6 years in Senegal prison
First conviction under Senegal’s harsh new anti-gay law
Under Senegal’s harsh new anti-homosexuality law, the first defendant has been convicted and sentenced to six years in prison, SeneNews reported. Below is their article, edited, translated from French and amended with information from Block TV Gambia:
On Friday, the High Court of the Dakar suburb of Pikine-Guédiawaye sentenced a young man to six years in prison, accompanied by a fine of two million CFA francs [about US $3,570], for public indecency and committing “unnatural acts”.
This marks the first judicial ruling handed down since the enactment of the law tightening the penalties for such offenses in Senegal.
According to reports by Seneweb, the convicted man — identified as Mbaye Diouf [a common name in Senegal] — was remanded in custody on the orders of the Public Prosecutor, Saliou Dicko.
The events date back to the late afternoon of April 2, 2026, in a garden across from the National Arena. A witness said he came across two individuals behaving suspiciously “in a compromising scene” in tall grass.
The witness filmed the encounter before approaching the couple.
One of the men fled the scene, while Diouf, unable to run with his trousers around his knees, was apprehended on the spot. He was taken to the central police station in Guédiawaye.
The defendant—a 24-year-old laborer—admitted to the charges during his interrogation. He stated that he had agreed to the sexual encounter in exchange for 2,000 CFA francs [about US $3.57].
According to his statements, the transaction had not yet been finalized at the time of their arrest. He also claimed to have been unaware that the act was illegal, while simultaneously pleading with the court for leniency.
After spending 48 hours in police custody, he was brought before the public prosecutor’s office on April 7. The search continues for his alleged partner, who remains at large.
Diouf’s conviction on April 10 marked the first judicial application of the new law increasing the penalties for same-sex intimacy in Senegal.
