Demba Dieng, former head of the Cadastre and current presidential adviser, declined a parliamentary summons on October 15, 2026, to testify before the parliamentary inquiry commission investigating widespread land management and maritime domain irregularities in Senegal.
The decision by a high-ranking administration figure to stay away from the National Assembly ignited an immediate debate across Dakar over the legal reach of legislative oversight bodies. Led by deputy Oumar Sy, the parliamentary commission investigating land and maritime domain management made clear that the refusal would not halt its proceedings.
Parliamentary Committee Moves Forward With Documents and Cross-Checking
The commission formally took note of the absent adviser while reaffirming its determination to finish the mandate entrusted to it by the National Assembly. Rather than relying solely on testimony from uncooperative witnesses, investigators plan to lean heavily on physical records, prior hearings, formal document requisitions, and contradictory cross-checking of all gathered information.
COMMUNIQUÉLa Commission d’enquête parlementaire sur les allégations de manquements sévères notés dans la gestion du foncier de différents lotissements et du domaine public maritime informe l’opinion publique que Madame Demba DIENG, ancienne Cheffe de Bureau du Cadastre,… pic.twitter.com/ECqS90va2Z
Demba Dieng brings deep administrative history to the dossier, having previously served as head of the Cadastre bureau before directing the entire agency. Her current post as an adviser to Bassirou Diomaye Faye on domanial matters places her former institutional territory directly at the center of the legislative scrutiny.
Legal Limits on Legislative Summons Under Assembly Internal Rules
The standoff centers on organic law no. 2025-11, enacted on August 18, 2025, which governs the internal rules of the National Assembly. Article 56 of that statute grants investigative committees the power to compel appearances through bailiffs when an individual’s testimony proves useful. Yet constitutional constraints also shape the playing field.
In decision no. 2/C/2025 on July 24, 2025, the Constitutional Council struck down a provision that would have allowed the assembly president to use physical force to compel witness appearances before an inquiry commission. The court ruled that such coercive powers infringe upon judicial prerogatives reserved exclusively for the courts, leaving lawmakers with investigative authority but without police-state enforcement tools.
Six Committees Reviewing State Finances, Land, and Public Contracts
The land inquiry is one of six parliamentary investigative bodies ratified by the National Assembly on August 20, 2026.
- The 48-billion-FCFA
Un étudiant, un ordinateur
student laptop procurement program running since 2017 - State-owned built heritage management and public procurement practices
- Fishing licenses and tax exemption policies
- Total Return Swap financial mechanisms and state debt operations
Public hearings under these mandates opened on October 5, 2026, pulling in a succession of current treasury officials, tax chiefs, and former cabinet ministers.
Simultaneous Audits Target Debt Operations and Tax Exemptions
While the land commission handles administrative fallout from missed appointments, parallel hearings are scrutinizing national financial architecture. Treasury and tax directors, including General Directorate of Public Accounting and Treasury head Amadou Tidiane Gaye and Director General of Taxes and Domains Jean Koné, have rotated through the assembly chambers to answer for public debt management and tax abandonment figures.
Investigators examining Total Return Swap financing have also summoned debt management specialists to evaluate state guarantees and the long-term fiscal footprint of international borrowing arrangements established under prior administrations.