Opposition Leader Ousmane Sonko Charged and his Party Dissolved

Ousmane Sonko, the fiercest opponent of President Macky Sall and a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, was charged and imprisoned on Monday for various crimes, including calling for insurrection, and his party was dissolved, raising fears of further unrest in Senegal. Ousmane Sonko  , 49, who was nominated as a candidate by his party, is thus seeing a third legal procedure open against him, which risks further compromising his participation in the February 2024 presidential election.

Less than two hours after his indictment, Interior Minister Antoine Diome announced in a statement the dissolution of his party, Pastef, created in 2015, justifying his decision by its "frequent" calls for "insurrectional movements" which, according to him, caused many deaths in March 2021 and June 2023 and led to "acts of ransacking and looting of public and private property." "The assets of the dissolved party will be liquidated," the statement added.