Senegalese opposition figure Sonko goes on hunger strike

(FILES) The opponent Ousmane Sonko, mayor of Ziguinchor, speaks during a rally of the Senegalese opposition at the Place de l’Obelisque in Dakar, on June 8, 2022. – Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko was arrested on July 28, 2023, two members of his party told AFP, though no precise reasons were given.”Ousmane Sonko was arrested — there were gendarmes in front of his house,” said Ousseynou Ly, a spokesman for Sonko’s Pastef party.
Djibril Gueye Ndiaye, Sonko’s head of protocol, said the gendarmerie came and “took” Sonko. (Photo by SEYLLOU / AFP)

Firebrand Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko, who is in custody after being arrested this week, began a hunger strike on Sunday, he said on social media.

Senegal’s public prosecutor on Saturday announced seven new charges, including fomenting insurrection, against the politician.

“In the face of so much hate, lies, oppression, persecution, I have decided to resist”, Sonko wrote in the post. “I am going on hunger strike… I invite all political detainees to do the same.”

He is scheduled to be interrogated by a judge on Monday.

Sonko’s arrest on Friday and the new charges announced on Saturday are unrelated to a moral corruption case against the politician that sparked deadly protests last month, the prosecutor said.

On June 1, his sentencing in absentia to two years in prison sparked clashes that left at least 16 dead.

The two-year sentence makes him ineligible to contest next year’s presidential election.

The firebrand politician, a vocal critic of President Macky Sall, has faced a string of legal woes, which he claims are aimed at keeping him out of politics.

The new charges are over comments he has made, rallies he has held, and other episodes since 2021, including an incident at his home on Friday that led to his arrest.

In addition to calling for insurrection, the charges include undermining state security, acts aimed at jeopardising public security and creating serious political unrest, criminal association with a terrorist body and theft.

His lawyers have argued that his arrest on these new allegations cancels out the moral corruption conviction, because he had been sentenced in absentia.

They are due to hold a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, a prominent Senegalese journalist and government critic, who was detained last year for “spreading false news”, was also arrested and taken into custody, according to his lawyer.

Pape Ale Niang also vowed a hunger strike, the lawyer said.

He had on Friday spoken about Sonko’s arrest in a live streamed video on YouTube.

The gendarme police force is investigating him for allegedly fomenting insurrection, though he has not yet been charged, the lawyer said.