The opposition firebrand may soon be out of jail following last week’s approval of an amnesty law pardoning criminal and penal offences.
Imprisoned opposition politician Ousmane Sonko will regain full civil rights. In a note addressed to the President of the Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court, Yoro Moussa Diallo, the legal representative of the state, stated that it would withdraw its appeal against ”order No. 01 of 14 December 2023 issued by the president of the High Court of Dakar,” which sought the reinstatement of the Mayor of Ziguinchor (South) on the electoral roll.
In his ruling of 14 December last year, Judge Ousmane Racine Thione decided to uphold the decision of the District Court of Ziguinchor, which had revoked Ousmane Sonko’s citizenship.
In June 2023, the Dakar Criminal Court had convicted Sonko in absentia for “corrupting the youth” in the Adji Sarr sexual molestation case.
This decision meant that the leader of the Pastef party de facto lost his eligibility and therefore his right to stand in the 2024 presidential elections.
Sonk emerged third in the last presidential election held in 2019 with over 15% of the vote.
More than a month later, he was arrested for ‘stealing a mobile phone’.
His case was bolstered by charges relating to the violent political demonstrations that took place between March 2021 and June 2023.
In prison, Sonko pleaded not guilty in the trial in absentia of Adji Sarr, a former massage parlour employee who accused him of rape and death threats.
However, state lawyers pointed out that President Macky Sall’s fierce opponent had been arrested on other charges that did not call into question his conviction in absentia and loss of eligibility.
Following an appeal by the state prosecutor, the Supreme Court decided to overturn the Ziguinchor court’s ruling before sending the case to the High Court in Dakar.
In his ruling, Judge Thione stated that “it is undisputed that Mr (Ousmane) Sonko was arrested and detained” and that “even if, as the state of Senegal claims, the arrest was for another reason, Article 307 of the Criminal Code must be applied if, at the time of his arrest, the defendant expressly states his status as a defendant and declares that he does not accept the sentence.”
Despite a lengthy legal battle, Ousmane Sonko’s candidacy for the 2024 presidential election was rejected by the constitutional court, which based its decision on the Supreme Court’s final conviction of the opposition politician in the case against Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang, who had sued him for defamation.
Although Sonko is still being held in Dakar’s Cap Manuel prison, the National Assembly adopted an amnesty law on Wednesday 6 March, dropping criminal and penal offences committed in connection with the violent political demonstrations that took place between March 2021 and June 2023.
