Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been sentenced to two years in prison for “corrupting youth,” according to state media.
The conviction means Sonko, who has a large youth following and is the leader of the PASTEF party (Patriots of Senegal for Ethics, Work and Fraternity), will not be eligible to stand for the country’s upcoming 2024 elections.
This sparked nationwide protests.
Sonko accuses President Macky Sall of planning to stay in office for an unconstitutional third term.
One of his lawyers, Abdy Nar Ndiaye, said it was suspicious that the judge had not ordered the immediate arrest of the 48-year-old politician.
“This means that their objective is not to arrest Sonko, but to keep him out of the next elections,” he said.
When Sonko was arrested in 2021 for disrupting public order, clashes left at least a dozen people dead.
