Wade returned to Senegal last month from France for the first time since his election defeat to his protégé turned foe, Macky Sall.
His son, Karim, stands accused of illegally amassing about US$1.4 billion during his father’s 12-year rule. Wade, who declared on arrival that he would back his son made his first attempt to see him on Monday.
A video released online which has since gone viral, showed a crowd of supporters and senior members of Wade’s party gathered at the Reubeuss Prison in Dakar, chanting “Gorgui! Gorgui!”
The prison police were on alert with their rifles poised as Wade’s convoy emerged at the gate.
Reports indicated that the former president persistently tried to see his son but the prison officials refused to grant him access quoting “security concerns”. A clash erupted at the scene with the police firing tear gas at the supporters as Wade was taken out of the prison compound.
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