Senegalese president admits defeat in election

Thousands celebrate in streets of Dakar as Macky Sall defeats Abdoulaye Wade in runoff

By Afua Hirsch and Sheriff Bojang Jr in Dakar
guardian.co.uk, Monday 26 March 2012

It is the story African voters live in fear of – a democratically elected leader flouts the constitution to extend his term in office, then refuses to cede power. For the past two months, voters in Senegal have been questioning whether their proud west African democracy would suffer the same fate.

But with one phone call on Sunday night, Senegal's 85-year-old president, Abdoulaye Wade, has finally confirmed the resilience of Senegal's political system, conceding victory to the opposition leader, Macky Sall, as early results showed a clear victory in runoff elections. 

DJ Zeyna in the house

RNW - Under the name of DJ Zeyna, a teenager overcame social stigmas to follow her dream of becoming Senegal’s first pro female DJ.

By Sheriff Bojang Jnr, Dakar

In a long queue of dozens of fellow graduates, 19-year-old Seynabou Ndoye – aka DJ Zeyna – is having one of the most memorable and emotional moments of her life. After months of hard work and defying the odds, Seynabou Ndoye is graduating from Senegal’s only hip hop school, Hip Hop Akademy. With this intensive DJ-ing course under her belt, she’s on her way to become the country’s first professional female DJ.

Hip Hop Akademy, located in the outskirts of Dakar, was set up by a group of local artists and sponsored by the US Embassy in Senegal and the NGO Trust Africa. Its aim is to scout and develop young talents.