Day of tension Friday in Senegal, the day after political opponent Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison, the prospect of his arrest alarms young Dakar residents in particular who support him for the 2024 presidential election.
In the popular HLM Grand Yoff district, one of the 19 district municipalities of Dakar, the Senegalese capital, young people pass with bags of foodstuffs looted from the supermarket next door. Half of Senegal’s population (18 million inhabitants) is under the age of 18. At the end of the street, the demonstrators oppose the police who retaliate with tear gas.
>> Senegal: what we know about the violence that occurred after the conviction of political opponent Ousmane Sonko
“The president must give in, said Amadou Ndiaye, a worried resident. Freeing Sonko is better so that at least everything calms down,. It’s the best solution”. Calls for an end to the violence followed one another on Friday in Senegal and abroad after the sentencing on Thursday to two years in prison of Ousmane Sonko, an anti-system personality, popular among young people and in modest circles and main opponent of the President Macky Sall for the 2024 presidential election.
“I’m too scared! Currently everything is closed. No one is working.”
Amadou Ndiaye, a resident of Grand Yoffat franceinfo
Amadou Ndiaye wonders how many days the troubles will last. “If it continues like this, it could degenerate”, he is alarmed. The fact is that Senegal, renowned as a rare island of stability in West Africa, is facing stiff opposition from those who fear the arrest of Ousmane Sonko. Acquitted of the charges of rape and death threats, he was on the other hand condemned for having pushed to “debauchery” the young woman under 21 who accused him. A conviction which, in view of the electoral code, could lead to his ineligibility and do Macky Sall’s business. The opponent also denounces a plot of power in place. 15 people died on Thursday, according to the latest report from the Interior Ministry. Scattered clashes were again reported on Friday in the capital and in Casamance, in Cap Skirring, a seaside resort, claiming a tenth victim, according to the government spokesman.
Wally, married and father of three children, demonstrates to oppose the possible candidacy for a third term of President Macky Sall in the presidential election of February 2024. “People are tired, he explains. Macky Sall must know that the country does not belong to him! We are fed up.”
“It is suggested to Macky Sall not to run for a third term. Let him free Sonko and the other detainees! Let him compete and may the best win!”
Wally, a protesterat franceinfo
For Abderrahmane Dembélé, sympathizer of the presidential party, the solution is however also in the renunciation of Macky Sall to a third mandate. “We haven’t been able to work for four or five days, he gets irritated. We don’t want problems, we want peace, we want dialogue.”
Apart from the points of tension from which tall black smoke is rising, the rest of Dakar is deserted, the schools and the university are closed and the shops have lowered their curtains. The government has restricted access to social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp or Twitter to stop, according to him, “the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages”.