From dismissed from the Justice system to head of the Council of Wise Men: Ousmane Diagne's revenge!

President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye appointed Ousmane Diagne as President of the Constitutional Council by decree no. 2026-1318 of July 13, 2026, replacing the late Mamadou Badio Camara. This appointment marks the return to prominence of the former Minister of Justice, several months after his departure from the government.

Ousmane Diagne was replaced as Minister of Justice on September 6, 2025, during a cabinet reshuffle. A presidential decree formalized his departure in favor of Yassine Fall, a member of the Pastef party and close to Ousmane Sonko, the then Prime Minister, who was appointed Keeper of the Seals. This reshuffle also resulted in the departure of several other ministers from the government, including General Jean-Baptiste Tine from the Interior Ministry, while Cheikh Niang took over as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The refusal to give in to pressure from the political wing

“I have never accepted pressure, especially in a predetermined direction. Don't count on me to exert the slightest pressure on the judges.” On April 2, 2025, before the members of parliament, the Senegalese Minister of Justice, Ousmane Diagne, argued for respect for procedural rules, rejecting any form of haste in the face of the alleged delays for which many members of Pastef criticized him. Today, he holds one of the most privileged positions in the judiciary.

This procedural rigor had, moreover, crystallized tensions at the top. In mid-November 2024, in the midst of the election campaign for the early legislative elections, the leader of Pastef and head of government made a vitriolic outburst, specifically targeting the Ministers of the Interior and Justice.

“I am the Prime Minister of Senegal. I have the right to give orders to the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice. The latter is a political authority, not a judicial authority. Some people say that he has independence, that he cannot be given injunctions. If I tell him to prosecute Déthié, he does not have the right not to call the Attorney General,” Ousmane Sonko notably declared, criticizing a lack of responsiveness to violence reported during the campaign.

A technical profile at the top of the laws

A career magistrate, Ousmane Diagne has over thirty years of experience in the Senegalese judiciary. During his distinguished career, he notably served as Attorney General at the Dakar Court of Appeal and First Advocate General at the Supreme Court, after having been a prosecutor and senior investigating judge. Appointed Minister of Justice in April 2024, he distinguished himself before his departure by referring the case to the public prosecutor's office for the reopening of the investigation into the deaths that occurred during the political violence between 2021 and 2024.

After his replacement at the Ministry of Justice, his reinstatement to the Supreme Court was significantly delayed. The act authorizing his assignment to the Attorney General's office at the high court had lapsed, and his situation depended on a meeting of the High Council of the Judiciary (CSM), which had not convened since June 26, 2025. With this appointment to the Constitutional Council, the magistrate makes a resounding return to the heart of the country's institutional framework.