After a court sentenced opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison, riot police and his followers clashed in Senegal, killing at least nine people, the interior ministry claimed. After Thursday’s ruling, which may exclude Sonko, President Macky Sall’s strongest opponent, from next year’s presidential race, clashes broke out. In Dakar, cars and buses were set on fire, while Ziguinchor, where Sonko has been mayor since 2022, had unrest. “We have noted, with regret, violence that has led to the destruction of public and private property and, unfortunately, nine deaths in Dakar and Ziguinchor,” Interior Minister Antoine Diome said on national television Friday.
Sonko, 48, was accused of raping and threatening a 20-year-old massage parlor worker in 2021. He denied guilt and called the claims political. Sonko was acquitted of rape but convicted of immorality towards minors. The justice ministry warned the opposition leader might be imprisoned anytime. After the verdict, police guarded his Dakar house. Bamba Ciss, one of the opposition leader’s attorneys, said Senegal’s electoral legislation prevented Sonko from running. Sonko’s PASTEF party urged on residents to “stop all activity and take to the streets” and suggested the verdict was a political scheme. Sonko, a former civil worker, placed third in the 2019 presidential election after criticizing President Sall and the governing class. Sonko calls Sall corrupt and a tyrant, while Sall’s fans label him a rabble-rouser who has bred instability. His 2021 rape arrest prompted days of rioting that killed at least 12 people. Protesters burned three buses on a Dakar university campus Thursday afternoon and flung rocks at riot police, who replied with tear gas. Government spokeswoman Abdou Karim Fofana claimed security troops had the capital under control.
“Likely to significantly impact the public’s ability to communicate,” the NetBlocks internet watchdog observed, Senegal blocked many social media and messaging sites later in the evening. If Sonko surrenders, university law lecturer Ndiack Fall suggested he might request a retrial. Sonko’s supporters say the allegations are a plot to keep him from competing in February elections. Government and justice deny this. Senegal has frequent protests, especially around elections. For one of West Africa’s strongest democracies, Sall’s second term has been extremely volatile. Sonko denies libel and is appealing a six-month suspended jail sentence.
