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Nov
19
2023
By NGOUDA DIONE and DIADIE BA
Jailed Senegal opposition leader suffers court setbacks

Jailed Senegal opposition leader suffers court setbacks

NEWS
THE presidential ambitions of jailed Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko suffered two setbacks after the Supreme Court annulled a lower court's decision ordering his reinstatement in the voter roll. Separately, a West African regional court backed the government of Senegal in a legal battle with Sonko, who had filed a case claiming the state violated his human rights. Sonko, 49, has faced a flurry of court cases over the past two years for charges including libel and rape, which he denies. He was arrested in July for insurrection, the government dissolved his party, and he has been struck off the…
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Jul
09
2023
By The African Mirror
Senegal opposition leader hints at election disruption if he can’t run

Senegal opposition leader hints at election disruption if he can’t run

NEWS
SENEGALESE opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has no plans to make peace with President Macky Sall and suggested he may try to disrupt next year's elections if he is not allowed to run, he said in an interview with France 24 television. "There will be no elections in this country if President Macky Sall wishes to counter my candidacy," Sonko said from his home in the capital Dakar, where he has been under effective house arrest since he was sentenced to two years in jail in June on charges stemming from an alleged rape. Sonko denies wrongdoing and says the charges are meant…
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Jul
06
2023
By The African Mirror
Senegal: behind the protests is a fight for democratic freedoms

Senegal: behind the protests is a fight for democratic freedoms

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
IN a late evening announcement on 3 July, President Macky Sall put an end to speculations that he would seek a third term in office by contesting in 2024. Prior to that announcement, Sall’s unwillingness to confirm he would not run for a third term, and the targeting of political opponents, created a political powder keg in Senegal. Authors RACHEL BEATTY RIEDL, Professor of International Studies, Cornell University BAMBA NDIAYE, Assistant Professor, Emory University Protests broke out in many cities across the country on 1 June 2023, following the conviction of leading opposition figure Ousmane Sonko for “corruption of the…
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Jun
10
2023
By SOFIA CHRISTENSEN
From restaurants to water towers, unrest dents Senegal’s economy

From restaurants to water towers, unrest dents Senegal’s economy

NEWS
A KFC restaurant was ransacked. Public transport torched. Glass-panelled stations for a multi-million dollar electric bus link shattered. A water plant was vandalised. Senegal is taking stock of the damage after the jail sentencing of prominent opposition figure Ousmane Sonko sparked the worst civil unrest in decades that threatens to dent progress in one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. Sixteen people died and hundreds were injured. Rioters attacked banks, supermarkets and petrol stations. Small businesses were also hit. "There was a clear intention to affect the normal functioning of our economic activity. Targets were not chosen fortuitously," Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome said over…
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Jun
06
2023
By The African Mirror
Senegalese riots victim warned of gun violence

Senegalese riots victim warned of gun violence

NEWS
EDWARD MCALLISTER and DIADIE BA ELHAJI Cisse was busy on Friday, the day he was killed, tweeting hundreds of times as riots erupted beyond the walls of his compound in a busy suburb of Senegal's capital Dakar. In one post, the 26-year-old student warned his 1,700 followers about security forces firing live rounds at protesters. In another, he shared first aid tips for people wounded on the streets. Offline he helped too, showing elderly neighbours how to ease their discomfort from inhaling mouthfuls of tear gas, said his younger brother Djimbala Ba. "He spent his time in the service of…
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Jun
06
2023
By EDWARD MCALLISTER and DIADIE BA
Senegalese man warned of gun violence the day he was shot dead in riots

Senegalese man warned of gun violence the day he was shot dead in riots

NEWS
ELHAJI Cisse was busy on Friday, the day he was killed, tweeting hundreds of times as riots erupted beyond the walls of his compound in a busy suburb of Senegal's capital Dakar. In one post, the 26-year-old student warned his 1,700 followers about security forces firing live rounds at protesters. In another, he shared first aid tips for people wounded on the streets. Offline he helped too, showing elderly neighbours how to ease their discomfort from inhaling mouthfuls of tear gas, said his younger brother Djimbala Ba. "He spent his time in the service of others," said Ba, 24, who…
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Jun
04
2023
By SOFIA CHRISTENSEN, DIADIE BA and NGOUDA DIONE
Fresh protests rock Senegal as death toll climbs

Fresh protests rock Senegal as death toll climbs

NEWS
FRESH clashes broke out between opposition supporters and Senegalese police in parts of the capital Dakar, the third day of protests in the West African nation sparked by the prosecution of an opposition leader. Protesters took to the streets in the evening, setting up barricades and burning rubbish in the HLM district. Police there and in the Ngor residential neighbourhood fired tear gas in an effort to disperse angry crowds. Gas stations and a supermarket were looted overnight and several districts were strewn with rubble and burned tyres. "The police couldn't do anything... The police had to leave after several…
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Jun
03
2023
By BATE FELIX, SOFIA CHRISTENSEN and NGOUDA DIONE
Senegal deploys army as Dakar braces for more unrest

Senegal deploys army as Dakar braces for more unrest

NEWS
ARMY troops were deployed to parts of the Senegalese capital Dakar as the city braced for more unrest after a jail sentence for opposition leader Ousmane Sonko sparked one of the deadliest days of violence in the country's recent memory. Nine people were killed in clashes between riot police and Sonko supporters on Thursday after he was sentenced to two years for corrupting youth. The opposition says the verdict, which could prevent Sonko from running in elections next year, was politically motivated. Security forces patrolled streets, which were quiet on Friday but strewn with burned cars, rocks and broken glass and lined…
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Jun
02
2023
By NGOUDA DIONE and BATE FELIX
Senegal presidential aspirant Sonko sentenced to prison, sparking protests

Senegal presidential aspirant Sonko sentenced to prison, sparking protests

NEWS
FRESH unrest hit Senegal's capital Dakar after a court sentenced a leading opposition politician, Ousmane Sonko, to two years in jail for corrupting the youth, undermining his chances of running for president next year. Sonko, 48, was accused of raping a woman who worked in a massage parlour in 2021, when she was 20, and making death threats against her. He denies wrongdoing and says the charges are politically motivated. A criminal court cleared Sonko of rape but found him guilty of a separate offence described in the penal code as immoral behaviour towards individuals younger than 21. This could…
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May
31
2023
By BATE FELIX and NGOUDA DIONE
Senegal unrest flares again over opposition leader

Senegal unrest flares again over opposition leader

NEWS
DOZENS of protesters clashed with security forces in Senegal's capital, Dakar, after lawmakers and supporters were blocked from visiting the home of a prominent opposition politician on trial for rape and libel. Police fired tear gas on demonstrators who built makeshift barricades along one of Dakar's main highways and in one neighbourhood set cars and a ministerial building on fire. It is the latest round in months of unrest triggered by President Macky Sall's refusal to rule out running for a third term in office and by court cases involving a leading rival, Ousmane Sonko, who denies wrongdoing and says…
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