Riots broke out last Thursday after the conviction in Senegal of opponent Ousmane Sonko. They officially killed 16 people. This Monday, the situation seems calmer but it could change in the days to come.
In Senegal, the tension has risen a notch after the sentencing Thursday, June 1 of the Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison. He was prosecuted for rape and death threats and was convicted of “youth corruption”. Officially, the riots that have since broken out have claimed 16 lives, 19 according to Sonko’s supporters. After several days of violence, calm finally seems to have returned on Monday June 5, but it may not last long, because nothing is settled.
>> REPORT. “Macky Sall must know that the country does not belong to him!” : Senegal ablaze after the conviction of the main opponent of the president
Nothing is settled because Ousmane Sonko has still not been arrested after his conviction which makes him ineligible. We also know that the youth have not much to lose and that they are ready to take to the streets again to defend their leader. Sonko’s party, the Pastef (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity), also continues to mobilize and blame power for the situation. He accuses the government of using “private militias” For “to put down” civilian populations and above all continues to urge the Senegalese “to defend themselves by all means and to fight back”.
Nothing is settled because, for its part, the government also continues to advance and accuse. For his part, he denounces the “acts of vandalism and banditry” for which he blames Sonko’s supporters. He wonders about the “occult forces” supported by foreigners who come to destabilize the country and the “plunge into chaos”. He claims that some demonstrators are armed. The Minister of the Interior announced on Saturday that he had also made some 500 arrests. In addition, part of the internet and some applications like Facebook, WhatsApp or Twitter are still suspended.
The next presidential election is the crux of the matter
The whole question is who will be able to participate in the next presidential election. Sonko, in prison, will not be able to present himself in 2024. His supporters cannot accept this impediment, they are ready to do anything, including breaking everything, to be heard and bring their leader back into the race. For his part, Macky Sall, the current president, casts doubt on his participation, knowing that a candidacy for a third term would not necessarily be legal. The announcement of a third candidacy could above all be very badly experienced by its opponents who, again, could take to the streets to express their anger. In any case, the return to calm is only a sham and it is impossible to say in what situation Senegal will find itself in the days, weeks or months to come.
>> Senegal: “The situation has degenerated”, testifies a student after the violent clashes in Dakar
While the anger is contained for the moment, calls for dialogue are increasing. The United States said “concerned and saddened” by this violence and called for a return to calm. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for calm and restraint. France did the same. She remembers that in 2021, during the last riots, already linked to the Sonko affair, many French interests had been targeted. During the demonstrations on June 3 and 4, no anti-French sentiment emerged even though Auchan stores were targeted.