The city was founded in 1952 by the colonial government for former residents of Dakar who were relocated for new developments. This original city is now known as "Old Pikine", while an informal community has grown up around it.
Mbaye Diagne, military officer and United Nations Military observer who was credited with saving many lives during the Rwandan genocide grew up in Pikine
^‘Villes ciblées – Décharge de Mbeubeuss : Analyse des impacts et amélioration des conditions de vie et de l’environnement à Diamalaye (Malika), Dakar’ (Dakar: Institut Africain de Gestion Urbaine (IAGU), 2011), 9.