On April 2, 2024, the newly inaugurated Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye appointed firebrand politician and key supporter Ousmane Sonko as the 16th prime minister.
Sonko, an opponent of former President Macky Sall, enjoys popularity among the youth of the West African nation.
He was however barred from the March 24 presidential election due to a defamation conviction which he denied.
Consequently, Sonko urged supporters to vote for his top lieutenant, Faye campaigning jointly under the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko,” who ultimately won with over 54% of the vote in the first round.
Sonko 49, was born in Thies and spent his childhood in Sebikhotane and Casamance. His father hailed from Casamance, while his mother belonged to Khombole.
He earned his degree in 1993 and completed his master’s degree in juridical science from Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis in 1999.
Following this, he pursued further studies at the National School of Administration and the Judiciary.
Prior to joining politics, Sonko worked for 15 years as a tax inspector in Pikine. He was dismissed as a tax inspector for speaking publicly about alleged tax evasion.
Ousmane Sonko Political Journey
Between 2017 and 2022, Sonko served as a member of the National Assembly.
The new Prime Minister was the Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) candidate in the 2019 presidential election.
At the time, he was the youngest candidate in the country’s presidential election where he came third with about 16% of the vote.
During the 2022 local elections, Sonko was elected as Mayor of Southern City of Ziguinchor.
In and out of court since 2021, not much has been achieved during his tenure as mayor, but his supporters say he gives them hope and is an anti-corruption figurehead.
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Also, PASTEF won 56 of Senegal’s 165 parliamentary seats in the 2022 National Assembly election after forming an alliance with four other parties.
Using his youthful charm and digital connection with the youth, Sonko is said to have drummed up support by posing as a generational shift from Senegal’s old political order.
In July 2023, his party PASTEF was dissolved by the Senegalese government for rallying its supporters during violent protests in June this year and in March 2021. He founded the Party in 2014.
On the same day, the government also restricted access to mobile data internet services to stop what it called the spread of “hateful and subversive” messages on social media.
Subsequently, in January 2024, the Constitutional Council of Senegal stated that it disqualified Sonko from the ballot because he faced a six-month suspended sentence following his conviction for defamation.
Sonko’s Charges in Court
Sonko’s presidential bid faced a prolonged legal battle that started when he was accused of rape in 2021.
However, he was acquitted of the rape charges, but convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison in June 2023.
Ousmane Sonko was charged of fomenting insurrection, undermining state security, creating serious political unrest, and criminal association, among others.
The sentencing sparked violent protests in one of Africa’s most stable nations which left at least 16 people dead and hundreds injured, according to officials.
On 14 March 2024, Sonko was released from prison.
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His release followed an amnesty law passed by Senegal’s parliament as part of efforts to douse tensions ahead of the presidential election that were scheduled for March 24.
Sonko had always maintained there was a plot to keep him out of the 2024 election, while his camp and the government have traded blame for the violence.
Ousmane Sonko did not just denounce the flaws of the current regime.
In January 2018, he published a book entitled “Oil and Gas in Senegal. Chronicle of a spoliation”, in which he accuses the Sall clan of having” violated “the Petroleum Code and the Constitution.
Sonko returned with a new book in September 2018 entitled “Solutions” which spoke of a set of coherent remedies that follow a rather fair and careful diagnosis.
In the book, he calls into question oil contracts to make black gold “a force for Senegal” and promises to renegotiate contracts to bring more than money to the state.
