At least nine people were killed in clashes between riot police and supporters of Senegal’s opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko on Thursday.
Protests erupted after Sonko was jailed by a court for “corrupting young people” which consists of poaching or encouraging the debauchery of a young person under the age of 21.
The opposition figure has been facing trial on charges of rape, but he was cleared of those charges.
Sonko was also facing trial for making death threats to a beauty salon employee in 2021.
He was accused of sexually assaulting the woman who worked in a massage parlour and later threatening her.
His supporters haven’t taken the court decision lightly sparking violent protests with more of such riots expected in the coming days.
Cheikh Anta Diop University, in the capital Dakar, was the epicenter of the violence, as protesters set buses alight and threw rocks at riot police, who responded by firing tear gas.
Police in Dakar on Friday surrounded the home of Ousmane Sonko. Sonko’s PASTEF party in a statement asked citizens to “stop all activity and take to the streets”.
When Mr Sonko was arrested in 2021, clashes left at least a dozen people dead. He has accused Senegal’s President Macky Sall of planning to stay in office for an unconstitutional third term.
Sall’s second term ends in 2024 but he has not said whether he will run for a third term.
The 48-year-old politician came third in the 2019 election and had announced he will run again.
Senegal’s opposition leader jailed for “corrupting young people”
Source: Africafeeds.com
