Here, we are in Belgium, not in Africa": how Molenbeek slipped into crisis during a session

Independent councillor Jamel Azaoum stated off-microphone that Belgium was not Africa during the first meeting of the year of the municipal council. This incident broke out as the councillors were discussing translation issues for certain administrative documents. Despite the immediate criticism from other councillors, the person concerned affirmed that he fully assumed his remarks, which he considers to be the truth.

The session was marked by a heated altercation when alderman Oumar Diallo took the microphone of the president to express his discontent. Faced with the agitation in the hemicycle, the president of the assembly, Hassan Rahali, was forced to suspend the debates for an hour to restore calm. Jamel Azaoum took advantage of this break to leave the room.

The president of the council officially announced that the municipality would bring the case to court. He described the remarks made as racist and contrary to the values of the municipal assembly. Alderman Oumar Diallo then took the floor to apologize for his intervention on the president’s microphone while expressing his emotion in the face of this incident.