opposition leader is sentenced for corruption of minors and protests break out

First modification: 06/01/2023 – 17:11

Senegal, one of the most stable democracies in West Africa, is the scene of a new outbreak of protests after the sentence of the prominent opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko.

The 48-year-old politician was sentenced this Thursday to two years in prison for corruption of minors, which endangers his chances of running for the Presidency in the February 2024 elections.

The verdict is the product of the complaint by “repeated violations” and “death threats” against a young masseuse, events that would have occurred in 2021 when she was 20 years old.

The Prosecutor’s Office had requested ten years in prison against Sonko for sexual assault or five years for corruption of minors. And additionally, he requested a year in prison for death threats. that the young complainant assures that she received from her alleged attacker.

Finally, although the authorities acquitted the defendant of the most serious charges, they found him responsible for a crime described in the penal code as immoral behavior towards people under 21 years of age.

In addition, the court in charge of the case sentenced Ndèye Khady Ndiaye, owner of a beauty salon where the events occurred, to two years in prison. The woman was prosecuted for “incitement to debauchery, dissemination of images contrary to morality and complicity in rape.”

Likewise, Sonko and Ndiaye were sentenced to pay a separate fine of around 900 euros and, together, another penalty of around 30,500 euros for the victim for damages.

Sonko did not appear at the hearings in the case and both he and his lawyers and supporters say it is an attempt to keep him out of the electoral race.

“With this ruling, Sonko cannot be a candidate,” said Bamba Cissé, one of his lawyers.

However, Sonko could demand a new trial if he turns himself in to the authorities, explained university law professor Ndiack Fall.

Protests grow in Senegal over Sonko’s sentence

In the last few hours, riots broke out in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, after the verdict against the opposition leader was announced. The ruling has been announced at a time of protests that are feared to increase.

Sonko had already called his followers to mass demonstrations in recent days after being held at his home on Sunday, May 28, where he remains surrounded by security forces, an action that he denounces as “a kidnapping.”

His statements came after the local police took him back to his home, at the end of his so-called “freedom caravan”which took place from the south of the country to Dakar, to protest against the government of President Macky Sall.

Sonko claimed that upon his return to the city, law enforcement officers arrested him and seized his weapon, telephones, and personal documentation without presenting him with any order or authorization from a judge.

The case for alleged rape has sparked violent protests in the country since 2021, when the complaint was filed.

But this is not the only accusation that has had the political leader on the ropes. the man too was sentenced, on May 8, to six months in prison suspended for defamation and public insults against a Senegalese minister after accusing him of corruption.

Sonko’s supporters insist there are political motivations behind the charges and accuse the Sall administration of trying to prevent Sonku from running in next year’s election.

However, the Government and Justice reject these accusations.

With AP, EFE and Reuters