One of the leaders of the Senegalese opposition, Ousmane Sonko, assured Thursday that his referral to a court for alleged rape would not prevent him from being a presidential candidate in 2024. Ousmane Sonko, third in the presidential election of 2019 , once again denounced to the press a
"true bogus legal case, a strictly political affair, exploited by the power of Macky Sall for the exclusive purpose of dismissing a candidate who, by far, seems to be one of the best placed to win the next presidential election.
"Conspiracy"
Ousmane Sonko has been charged since March 2021 for rape and death threats against an employee of a beauty salon in Dakar where he was going to get a massage.
The investigating judge has just ordered that he be tried before a criminal court.
Ousmane Sonko has always protested his innocence and spoke again on Thursday of President Sall's
"conspiracy"
, which he refutes.
The case is a constant source of tension.
The arrest of Ousmane Sonko had contributed in March 2021 to trigger several days of deadly riots, looting and destruction which had left at least a dozen dead.
Ousmane Sonko has since been placed under judicial supervision.
His referral to court introduces an additional unknown in the upcoming campaign, due to the disruption that a trial could cause or the consequences of a possible conviction on his candidacy.
"Nobody can prevent me, please God, from being a candidate in 2024 and I don't see the judge who is going to sentence me to five years in prison
," said Ousmane Sonko.
His lawyers say his referral to a court is subject to appeal.
No date has been set for a possible trial.
Read alsoJustice denies opponent Sonko permission to leave Senegal
Ousmane Sonko claimed that the judge was on a
"command mission"
for power.
“Since I have been in politics I have been systematically persecuted by this justice
,” he declared.
Macky Sall, elected in 2012 for seven years and re-elected in 2019 for five years, remains unclear about whether or not he intends to override strong constitutional objections and seek a new term in 2024.