Tensions were high in Dahra on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. Motorcycle taxi drivers, female traders, and cart drivers, wearing red armbands, vehemently denounced the numerous instances of police harassment they claim to face.

Gathered for a sit-in near the town hall, the protesters denounced the numerous arrests and seizures they have been subjected to. "For over a week, the security forces have been preventing us from working. Our carts are being seized and immobilized, and some of us have been summoned to the gendarmerie because they are preventing us from crossing the national highway," lamented Saliou Diop.

The drivers of "Djakarta" are in a bind.

Motorcycle drivers in Jakarta, particularly incensed, have appealed to the authorities regarding their precarious situation. Mbaye Ka, president of the Jakarta drivers' association, emphasizes the social impact of these measures: "Some drivers who are not yet in compliance are experiencing enormous difficulties. They are frequently stopped and their motorcycles impounded, even though they are breadwinners for their families."

Eviction on the national highway: the women are distraught.

The discontent also extends to the female shopkeepers and breakfast vendors. Set up along the national highway, they were evicted by the authorities, a decision they consider "unpopular and ill-timed".

“We are mothers and we have worked on this site for decades. We cannot understand such a decision. We ask Mayor Samba Ndiobéne Ka to intervene so that the gendarmes let us work in peace,” insisted Maty Fall, spokesperson for the traders.

Faced with this standoff between local economic actors and law enforcement, the people of Dahra are now waiting for mediation from the municipal authorities to calm the situation.