Minister Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé brings the message from the government Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé was, Monday November 9, 2026, at the scene of the tragedy. He presented the government’s condolences to the bereaved families and reaffirmed the State’s determination to confront the conveyors. LOUGA – The Minister of the Interior and Public Security,…
Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé was, Monday November 9, 2026, at the scene of the tragedy. He presented the government’s condolences to the bereaved families and reaffirmed the State’s determination to confront the conveyors.
LOUGA – The Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, arrived, Monday, November 9, in Potou, a village located in the commune of Léona, in the department of Louga, aboard an army helicopter, around 10:15 a.m. He was welcomed by the governor of the Louga region, Ndèye Nguénar Mbodj, and the prefect of the department, Maude Manga, before taking towards Lompoul beach, near Tébène 2, in the commune of Thiéppe, department of Kébémer.
At the scene of the tragedy, the minister first went to the place where the canoe carrying the candidates for irregular emigration failed. After around ten minutes spent listening to the explanations of the fire brigade commander, Amadou Fall, he joined the tactical camp set up by the firefighters to follow the rescue and victim care system more closely. On this occasion, the fire commander presented him with a detailed update of the situation, reviewing the circumstances of the alert and the evolution of the human toll. “Kébémer emergency services were alerted on Friday, November 6, at 4:14 p.m., for a canoe stranding on Lompoul beach, near the village of Tébène 2, in the commune of Thiéppe,” informed Amadou Fall. According to him, the first reconnaissance operations made it possible to count five victims, including four dead bodies and one survivor.
The death toll now stands at 39.
However, the toll increased considerably over the course of the search operations. It thus went from four dead bodies recorded on Friday to 39 deaths recorded on Monday, November 9. “All the remains were gathered at the Louga hospital and the Kébémer health district, with a view to their distribution in the 40 morgue places available in the Saint-Louis and Louga regions,” indicated Commander Amadou Fall. He also specified that the survivor had been evacuated to the Saré Dao health hut. Regarding the identification of victims, the head of the fire brigade reported that 24 bodies had already been identified, while 11 others had not yet been identified at the time of his intervention.
Then speaking in front of the families of the victims and the authorities present, the Minister of the Interior and Public Security expressed his deep compassion as well as the government’s solidarity with the families hard hit by this tragedy. “I came here on behalf of the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and the Prime Minister, Mohamed Alhaminou Lo, to present the government’s condolences following this shipwreck which caused loss of human life,” he declared. He added that this trip also aimed to demonstrate the solidarity of the Head of State and the entire Senegalese government to the bereaved families in this painful ordeal.
Tracking down the conveyors
Addressing the issue of irregular emigration, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé recognized the difficulties faced by many young people as well as their aspirations for a better life. “We can understand the aspirations of wanting to leave, the difficulties of everyday life, the desire to achieve and help one’s family. However, leaving is an option, but dying at sea should not be an option,” he insisted.
The minister also firmly denounced the actions of transport networks which exploit the vulnerability of young people by promising them a better future through clandestine crossings. He did not mince his words towards these smugglers, whom he considers to be real criminals taking advantage of the distress of would-be emigrators. “They are modern-day slave traders. We must therefore relentlessly hunt them down and apply appropriate punishment to them,” he said, calling for a more sustained fight against the networks organizing these deadly trips. Beyond repression, the minister insisted on the need to strengthen awareness campaigns in order to make young people understand that it is possible to succeed in life by remaining in Senegal. For him, the fight against irregular emigration must also involve the creation of economic and professional prospects likely to meet the aspirations of young people.
In this dynamic, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé underlined the importance of strengthened cooperation with other countries in the sub-region to better fight against smuggling networks and clandestine networks. He also called for the development of circular migration, which would allow young Senegalese wishing to work abroad to benefit from regular and secure departure routes.
This ministerial visit comes in a particularly painful context for the populations of Thiéppe and Potou, where several families were bereaved by this shipwreck. Between searching for the missing, identifying the bodies and supporting the victims’ loved ones, the consequences of this tragedy continue to weigh heavily on the affected communities.
