Senegal: Opposition Leader Sonko Sentenced for 'Corrupting Youth'

Facts

• Senegal opposition leader and presidential prospect Ousmane Sonko on Thursday was sentenced to two years in prison after a court found him guilty of corrupting youth, a criminal offense that includes using one's position of power to have intercourse with someone under 21.¹
• This comes as a then 20-year-old massage therapist accused the politician of sexually assaulting and threatening her in 2021 at a beauty salon, whose owner was also sentenced to two years in jail for the same offense. Sonko was cleared of rape charges.²
• The ruling, which bars the politician from running in the 2024 elections as he was convicted in absentia and therefore cannot issue an appeal, has prompted protests as well as clashes between his supporters and security forces in the largest cities of the country.³
• At a central university campus in the capital of Dakar, demonstrators set a car on fire and threw rocks at riot police, who fired tear gas in response. Justice Minister Ismaila Madior Fall told reporters Sonko could be arrested "at any time."⁴
• Sonko's Pastef les Patriotes party urged the army to join the demonstrations, with protesters from the southern town of Ziguinchor, where Sonko is also the mayor, threatening to march to Dakar.⁵
• These developments come a day after Pres. Macky Sall vowed to ensure peaceful, free, transparent elections next year. In 2019, his main challengers — former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and former first son Karim Wade — were unable to run due to criminal charges.⁶

Sources: ¹FOX News, ²BBC News, ³New York Times, ⁴Al Jazeera, ⁵Bloomberg, and ⁶Reuters.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by DW. Ousmane Sonko is the victim of a politically-motivated conspiracy planned by the Sall government, which has the clear intent to eliminate him from the 2024 presidential elections. Senegal's justice system isn't independent and is once again working to bar those that would work against the establishment in a healthy manner.
• Narrative B, as provided by Al Jazeera. Whether the Sall government is unfairly persecuting an opposition leader or Sonko is an agitator trying to evade justice, it's outrageous that this sexual violence case has been politicized by both sides of the political spectrum. The Senegalese nation should be discussing how to better safeguard the rights of women and sexual victims.