LAMINE DIACK RETURNS TO SENEGAL
Lamine Diack, the former head of World Athletics formerly International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), has returned to Senegal after a 4-year sentence to prison for corruption by a French court.
One of his relatives made this public on Tuesday anonymously. According to the relative, Diack (now 87 years old) was welcomed home with “joy, fervour and gratitude” on Monday when he landed.
He led the IAAF from 1999 to 2015. He was charged for covering up Russian doping cases which led to his imprisonment for 4 years. However, 2 years were suspended and he was fined $600k (€500k). Though, Rose-Marie Hunault, the presiding judge in Paris as of that period said he may be offered a conditional release due to his age.
The former World Athletics boss has appealed. According to reports from Dakar, the people can’t wait to see him. They labelled the case in France as “hostage-taking”.
Before leaving for Senegal, his passport was previously confiscated because he was also suspected for Olympic vote-buying.
For Diack to return home, he met two conditions for the ban to be lifted. He paid the required bond through the help of a Senegalese club where he occupies the seat of the president and agreed to show up in court whenever he’s invited.
His relative also reported that Diack has been calm and combative. It has been 6 years since he visited. He has lost some family members and would be visiting their graves soon.
By Elijah Christopher
Elijah Christopher is a journalist at A New Touch Of Africa, is also a creative writer, a poet, and an IT enthusiast. He contributed to the collaborative poem written in celebration of Edwin Morgan Centenary, the first Glasgow poet laureate and Scottish national poet from the University of Glasgow. He loves meeting people and learning about new places, cultures, events, and lifestyles.