Popular Ousmane Sonko, the head of the Senegalese opposition who has been on a two-week hunger strike in protest of his imprisonment, has reportedly been admitted to urgent care, according to his allies.
A Pastef party member named Ousseynou Ly asserted that Mr. Sonko was afflicted with a disease that hit last night. The Senegalese government has ordered the Pastef party to be shut down.
A medical source at Hospital Principal in Dakar’s capital city verified his transfer to the intensive care unit to the BBC.
After accusing and imprisoning Mr. Sonko for, among other things, insurrection and conspiracy against the state, Pastef claims that the authorities are “responsible” for his predicament. The authorities have not released a statement regarding Mr. Sonko’s health.
He intends to run for president in February of next year, but since he was under investigation in a moral corruption case in 2021, he has been in a contentious power battle with the government.
The rights and freedom of Ousmane Sonko are all we seek for from the government of Senegal, according to Habib Sy, leader of the opposition alliance Yewwi Askan Wi.
Mr. Sonko was given a two-month prison sentence in absentia in June, which he claimed was driven by politics.
According to Amnesty International, that sparked irate fights between the supporters, which resulted in the deaths of 24 individuals.
He was detained the next month, and just this week he was accused of inciting uprising.