— DAKAR, Senegal Sonko To prevent his followers from following him, authorities took Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from his car on Thursday. This led to violence in several areas of the capital as they carried him to a court hearing.
On the third day of protests in support of Sonko, who placed third in the most recent presidential election and is anticipated to be a major contender in next year’s election, police used tear gas in many Dakar neighborhoods to disperse demonstrators.
Several demonstrators attacked French businesses and set fire to buses used by Senegal’s national public transportation system. The village of Thies, located 68 kilometers (42 miles) east of the capital, the southern towns of Ziguinchor and Bignona and the northern metropolis of Saint-Louis, also reported unrest.
Sonko asserts that the government of President Macky Sall is attempting to sabotage his bid for office in the 2024 election due to his legal issues. Sall has been pushed by the opposition leader to openly declare that he would not run for reelection a third time.
Sonko told reporters on Thursday afternoon that “the dictatorship of Macky with police repression” was the face of Senegal.
Sonko asserts that the government of President Macky Sall is attempting to sabotage his bid for office.
Sonko was scheduled to appear in court concerning a civil complaint brought by Senegal’s tourism minister against him for alleged defamation earlier that day. An opposition convoy supporting him took more than an hour between his residence and the courthouse.
When he arrived at court, he requested to see a doctor, claiming that the police had mistreated him when they pushed him out of his car. The hearing has been postponed till March 30 by Judge Pape Mouhamed Diop.
He is also charged with rape in a second case when a female massage parlor employee accused him of assault. He may spend up to 10 years in prison and would not be permitted to run for president if found guilty. There is no specified date for this trial.
Sonko was taken from his car against his will by Senegalese authorities on Thursday for the second time in a month because they said his activities were disruptive. Police forced him out of his car by breaking the glass in the middle of February.
After Sonko was detained for disrupting public order en route to the courthouse for his scheduled appearance in the rape case in 2021, days of violent protests broke out. The deadliest violence to strike Senegal in years claimed at least 13 lives.
SOURCE – (AP)
