Law No 2026-08, adopted by the National Assembly on 11th March, has now been promulgated by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. It was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Senegal in its special issue of 30th March, 2026 amending Article 319 of the 1965 Penal Code and explicitly criminalising homosexual relations.
The text defines as an “act against nature” any sexual act between persons of the same sex, as well as any sexual act committed on a corpse or an animal. Anyone found guilty faces a prison sentence of five to 10 years and a fine of two to 10 million CFA francs, without prejudice to the penalties provided for in cases of rape or paedophilia.
The law goes beyond simply repressing these acts. It also penalises the public promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality, trans-sexuality, or bestiality, in any form whatsoever — spoken, written, visual, or audio — with prison sentences of three to seven years and fines of 500,000 to 5,000,000 CFA francs. Funding or supporting any activity aimed at promoting these practices is subject to the same penalties.
Those convicted under this article will also be deprived of their civic rights for a period of ten years from the date their conviction becomes final. Conversely, any denunciation deemed to be made in bad faith exposes the perpetrator to a prison sentence of two to five years and a fine of 500,000 to 2,000,000 CFA francs.
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