2023-10-13 18:16:03
The political-judicial saga around the imprisoned Senegalese opponent, Ousmane Sonko, continues. It experienced a new twist with the decision of a provincial judge appearing to put him back in the presidential race. A magistrate from a district court in Ziguinchor (south) ordered Thursday evening that Ousmane Sonko, central character in a turbulent and violent Time.news which has kept Senegal in suspense for two and a half years, be reinstated on the electoral lists from which he was removed.
This restoration would a priori allow Ousmane Sonko, imprisoned since the end of July after months of showdown with the government and the justice system, to compete in the presidential election of February 2024, of which he would be one of the main candidates.
“A demand from the Senegalese people”
“Ousmane Sonko’s candidacy is a social demand, it is a demand of the Senegalese people (…). Legally, Ousmane Sonko must be a candidate,” exulted one of his counsel, Me Cédor Clédor Ly, in the middle of the night after a marathon hearing peppered with adventures, such as a power cut which forced the judge to work by lamp. torch at the time of deliberation.
But this rare success for Ousmane Sonko after a series of disappointments is far from guaranteeing his candidacy. State lawyers have announced an appeal to the Supreme Court. “For the moment, Ousmane Sonko cannot be reinstated in the electoral lists,” said the state representative at the hearing in a statement published on news sites.
Fierce tug of war
The State tried to recuse Judge Sabassy Faye. The latter is the brother of one of Ousmane Sonko’s deputies in his role as mayor of Ziguinchor, state lawyers tried to argue. Third in the presidential election in 2019, the 49-year-old man has been engaged in a fierce tussle in power since 2021 and his indictment in a morals affair. He and his lawyers have continued to denounce a plot to eliminate him politically.
His sovereignist and pan-Africanist speech, his diatribes against “the state mafia”, multinationals and the economic and political influence exercised according to him by the former French colonial power have earned him strong support among those under 20 who represent the half of the population. His detractors see him as an incendiary agitator.
“Enormous courage”
The confrontation gave rise to several episodes of protest which left dozens of dead while Senegal, without being a stranger to political violence, is renowned as an island of stability in a troubled region. After a conviction for defamation against a minister, Ousmane Sonko was found guilty on June 1 of debauchery of a minor and sentenced to two years in prison. Having refused to appear at the trial, he was convicted in absentia.
He was imprisoned at the end of July on other charges, including calling for insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise and endangering state security. The authorities announced the dissolution of his party the same day. Although the language varied, the government essentially argued that Ousmane Sonko was convicted in absentia to justify his removal. An official at the Interior Ministry confirmed to AFP in August that he had been removed, which prevents him from running for president. In this context, Me Clédor Ly considered that the Ziguinchor judge had “shown enormous courage”.
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