Yoff Green Belt: Customary Owners' Collective Appeals to Supreme Court
The Collective of Families Owning Customary Rights in the Yoff Green Belt announced on Friday, July 17, 2026, that they have initiated legal action. They are challenging a decree that incorporated this zone into the perimeter of the Léopold Sédar Senghor military airport. The Collective stated in a press release that they have filed a lawsuit through their legal counsel. This action marks a significant legal challenge to the government's land use decisions concerning the Yoff Green Belt. The group represents families who claim customary ownership rights over the land. Their legal move aims to reverse the integration of the area into the airport's operational space. The specific details of the legal filing and the counsel involved were not fully disclosed in the initial announcement. This development highlights ongoing tensions between customary land rights and state development projects in Senegal. The Supreme Court will now consider the merits of the customary owners' claim against the state's decree.
This legal challenge by the Yoff Green Belt customary owners against the integration of their land into the Léopold Sédar Senghor military airport perimeter raises critical questions about land tenure security and state development priorities. The action before the Supreme Court will likely examine the legal framework governing customary rights versus state expropriation or integration for public infrastructure. Future land use planning in Senegal may need to more robustly incorporate and respect established customary claims to mitigate such conflicts. The case underscores the tension between national security or economic development imperatives and the protection of ancestral land rights, a dynamic likely to persist as Senegal continues its development trajectory.
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