West Africa – Senegal: Opposition leader arrested – party dissolved – News

  • Opposition leader and presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko was arrested in the West African country of Senegal on Friday.
  • On Monday, local media reported that Sonko was charged with instigating a riot.
  • On the same day, the government dissolved the opposition party with immediate effect.
  • For fear of protests, the Senegalese government has also restricted access to the Internet.

The Senegalese Interior Ministry’s decision to dissolve the opposition party came “following events that constitute a serious and lasting breach of the commitments of the political parties,” the agency said.

Legend:

Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko during a media conference in the Senegalese capital Dakar. (Picture from March 8, 2021)

REUTERS/Cooper Inveen

Sonko’s Pastef party and its leaders have called on their supporters to “insurgent movements”. This had led to serious consequences, there were many fatalities and injuries as well as looting, it said.

Internet restricted


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The authorities also announced that internet access via mobile data had been blocked due to the spread of seditious messages on social networks. This was after protests were called in connection with Sonko’s arrest on Friday.

“Due to the proliferation of hateful and subversive messages relayed through social networks in a context of imminent disruption to public order, mobile data internet will be temporarily suspended during certain time slots from Monday, July 31,” announced the Minister of Telecommunications and digital economy announced in a statement.

Protests after Sonko’s sentencing

Violent protests erupted in June after Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison in another sexual abuse case. Sonko had called the allegations politically motivated. At least 15 people were killed in the riots.

After Sonko was arrested again on Friday, he said he began a hunger strike two days later. “In the face of so much hate, lies, oppression and persecution, I have decided to resist,” Sonko wrote on Twitter.

Protesters throw stones, possibly at the police.

Legend:

Protests in the capital Dakar. (Picture from June 3, 2023)

AP Photo/Leo Correa

Sonko is considered President Macky Sall’s closest challenger. It is unlikely that he will be able to stand again in the February 2024 elections. The allegations against the opposition leader have repeatedly led to protests in the country with 17 million inhabitants. Senegal has so far been considered a stable democracy.

The Senegalese politician Ousmane Sonko should not be confused with the former interior minister of Gambia, Ousman Sonko, who has to answer before the Swiss judiciary for crimes against humanity.

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