At least two people have died in Senegal during the protests that were unleashed after the arrest last Friday of the opposition leader and presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko, charged with eight charges and in preventive detention since Monday, the Senegalese government reported.
The Ministry of the Interior has indicated in a statement that it had been informed of the discovery of two lifeless male bodies this Monday, during the demonstrations in Ziguinchor, a key city in southern Senegal of which Sonko is mayor.
The Minister of the Interior, Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome, called on the population to remain calm and serenity and informed that all measures are being taken to preserve peace and tranquility in the country, while offering his condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.
Sonko was arrested last Friday charged with seven charges by the Prosecutor’s Office.
After a hearing this Monday, the judge ruled preventive detention and added an eighth charge against the opponent.
Hours later, the Government of Senegal announced the dissolution of its political party Pastef (Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity) alleging that through its leaders and management bodies “it has frequently called on its sympathizers to participate in insurrectionary movements”.
Since his arrest, riots have broken out in the capital, Dakar, and in other cities across the country between police forces and youths, who burn tires, build barricades and block roads to protest.
The authorities reacted this Monday by temporarily suspending mobile internet.
Last June, a court sentenced Sonko to two years in prison for the crime of youth corruption (applicable when young people between the ages of 18 and 21 are abused, according to the Senegalese Penal Code), a verdict that sparked violent protests that They caused at least 16 deaths, according to the government, a figure that Amnesty International puts at 23.
In addition, in March he was sentenced to two months in suspended prison for defamation after being sued by the country’s tourism minister, Mame Mbaye Niang.
The popular opponent has denounced the “instrumentalization” of Justice by the Senegalese president, Macky Sall, to prevent him from running in the next elections, scheduled for 2024.
Known for his “anti-system” speech, Sonko criticizes bad governance, corruption and French neo-colonialism and has a strong following among Senegalese youth.
