29 mars 2024

Senegal: resumption of the trial against the opponent Ousmane Sonko

Partager avec :

In the court of Dakar, the trial for rape against the Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko, declared candidate for the presidential election of 2024, resumed this Tuesday, in his absence and under heavy police protection.

Ousmane Sonko, president of the party Pastef-les Patriotes, is to be tried by a criminal chamber for rape and death threats against an employee of a beauty salon.

The case has held Senegal in suspense for over two years. The appointments of Ousmane Sonko with justice in this case and another of defamation, have regularly given rise to incidents and clashes.

Ousmane Sonko, 48 years old, admitted to having gone for a massage to soothe chronic pain. But he has always denied the accusations of alleged rape and defamation, denouncing a plot by the government to keep him out of the presidential election.