Senegalese Opposition Figure Accuses Government of an Attempt on his Life

A campaign poster for Ousmane Sonko during Senegal’s 2017 legislative elections (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung via Flickr)

One of Senegal’s most prominent opposition leaders, Ousmane Sonko, accused the police of an attempt against his life as he was handed a two-month suspended sentence for defamation on March 30. The opposition leader claimed that police poisoned him by spraying him with an unknown liquid while on the way to a March 16 court appearance. Sonko is gearing up to launch a bid for the presidency in Senegal’s February 2024 elections, when Senegal’s incumbent president, Macky Sall, will be constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. However, a recent increase in the harassment of opposition figures and posturing by Sall’s government about the potential constitutionality of a third presidential term suggests Sall may be preparing to run again. The move follows similar constitutional changes to allow  incumbent presidents to extend their mandates in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and the Central African Republic.

The defamation charges against Sonko stemmed from a civil suit by Senegal’s tourism minister after he claimed he was a target of public insults by Sonko at a press conference last year. Sonko was also charged with rape in 2021, but the case has yet to go to trial. After rising to prominence through a third-place finish in Senegal’s 2019 presidential election, Sonko became a controversial figure and  foil to Sall. Sonko’s defamation trial sparked widespread protests, including a March 16 demonstration which was disrupted by the police using tear gas. Clashes between protesters and police surrounding a court appearance by Sonko during his 2021 rape case killed 13 protesters. While Sonko’s Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) party and opposition leaders have claimed both the rape and defamation charges were fabricated to disqualify Sonko from running in the 2024 elections, Sall and his defenders have accused Sonko of deliberately sowing discord and unrest. 

Senegal, once a leading example of a successful democratic transition, has witnessed democratic backsliding as Sall has used Senegal’s judicial system to harass and subdue opposition parties and figures. Ahead of his 2019 re-election campaign, two of Sall’s leading rivals were indicted in corruption cases and prevented from running. Although Sonko’s suspended sentence in the defamation case will not bar him running a presidential campaign, a potential conviction in his rape trial would carry a 10 year sentence and prevent him from running in 2024. Other potential rivals to Sall have also been arrested in recent months, including a former prime minister and a leading member of Sonko’s PASTEF party. 

It is still unclear whether Sall will run for a third term in 2024, although members of his government have argued that such a move would be constitutional despite the constitution’s two-term limit. Sall himself has claimed that the 2016 constitutional amendment that created presidential term limits and shortened each presidential term from seven years to five years would not apply to his first term and thus allow him to run for a third term.

Ironically, Sall won his first term in 2012 by defeating President Abdoulaye Wade, who was attempting to win a third term in a move opposed by pro-democracy organizations like the youth-focused Y’en a marre. Should Sall run for a third term, those same groups have announced their intention to oppose their erstwhile ally.