The Senegalese Minister of Justice has affirmed that the conviction of opposition figure Ousmane Sonko in a moral-related case is definitively upheld, rendering him ineligible for the 2024 presidential election.
Ousmane Sonko, whose protracted struggle with authority and the legal system has captivated Senegal for over two years, was found guilty on June 1 of “debauchery of a minor” and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Choosing not to appear at the trial, which he decried as a plot to exclude him from the upcoming presidential election, Sonko was sentenced in absentia. In late July, he was subsequently incarcerated on additional charges, including incitement to insurrection, criminal conspiracy associated with a terrorist enterprise, and endangering state security.
Authorities have questioned Sonko’s involvement in a series of protest events that have arisen since 2021 due to his confrontation with authority and legal issues, including a significant episode in June, resulting in multiple fatalities.
Sonko’s legal representatives contend that because he has been in detention since his conviction, a retrial is necessary as per the prevailing regulations on absentia trials.
In response to this, Ismaïla Madior Fall, the Minister of Justice, stated in an interview published by Jeune Afrique magazine on Wednesday that Sonko’s arrest was “in the context of another matter” unrelated to the moral case, thereby negating the applicability of the rule that mandates a retrial for someone tried in absentia upon their arrest.
“Why didn’t he become a prisoner if he wanted to get his conviction in absentia overturned? It has since become final,” Fall asserted.
He added, “It is for this reason that Mr. Sonko was deprived of his electoral rights and that he was removed from the lists. There is no conspiracy intended to remove a presidential candidate.”
Sonko commenced a hunger strike on July 30 and has been under hospital care since August 6.
The authorities announced the dissolution of Sonko’s party and conducted numerous arrests, a move met with robust criticism from human rights advocates. The government cites the necessity to safeguard the population from what it characterizes as an insurrectional scheme.
Regarding the 2023 unrest, the minister disclosed that around 500 individuals have been detained. He clarified, “Those incarcerated have vandalized shops or banks, attacked gendarmerie stations, or even set fire to town halls. There are no political prisoners in Senegal.”