Senegal: gradual decline in tensions, the death toll rises to 16

June 4, 2023

Tension is gradually falling in Senegal where clashes of less intensity claimed a new victim on Saturday, bringing the official death toll to 16 since the sentencing on Thursday of Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison.

The Senegalese continue to fear an arrest of the declared presidential candidate of 2024. While the camps of Mr. Sonko and President Macky Sall blame each other for the violence and deaths, the government has decided to “temporarily” cut off the internet on the phones.

In a press release on Sunday, the Pastef, party of Mr. Sonko, condemns “the murderous repression of the defense and security forces” and accuses the authorities of using “private militias” to “subdue” the civilian populations. It gives a death toll of 19 among the demonstrators.

He continues to urge the Senegalese “to defend themselves by all means and to fight back”.

The government denounces for its part the “acts of vandalism and banditry”, work of the partisans of Mr. Sonko supported by “occult forces”, “foreigners” come “to destabilize the country” and “plunge it into chaos”. He claims that some demonstrators are armed. The Minister of the Interior announced on Saturday that he had made some 500 arrests.

The presence of security forces decreased slightly on Sunday in Dakar where many stores remain closed. Several neighborhoods that had experienced bouts of violence Thursday and Friday in the capital remained calm on Saturday.

The Ministry of the Interior communicated on Sunday on a “clear drop in points of tension and arrests”. “A lot of activities resumed yesterday (Saturday) evening and this (Sunday) morning with the end of the ban on motorcycle traffic,” he added.

Garbage cans, which were beginning to pile up in certain districts of the capital, were picked up.

But the government on Sunday suspended internet on phones “due to the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages”, while social networks, such as WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter, were already unavailable.

“Mobile data internet is temporarily suspended during certain time slots,” said a press release from the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy.

Spontaneous demonstrations followed Thursday the conviction of opponent Ousmane Sonko, declared presidential candidate of 2024, and sentenced to two years in prison for having pushed a young woman under 21 to “debauchery”.

This decision makes him ineligible for the time being. Mr. Sonko, popular with young people, has been crying out from the start of the case for a plot by President Macky Sall to eliminate him politically.

The justice minister said the opponent could be arrested “at any time”. This possible arrest could relaunch the cycle of violence.

Ousmane Sonko says he is “sequestered” in his Dakar residence by security forces who prevent anyone from approaching. He has not spoken publicly since his conviction.

Sunday, the Keeper of the Seals, Ismaila Madior Fall recalled on a local radio that “the execution of the decision of justice lies with the prosecution”. However, he explained that the court decision had not yet been written.

There is no time limit for the execution of the court decision but it is intended to be applied, he said.

On Saturday evening, one of the leaders of the opposition coalition, the mayor of Dakar Barthélémy Dias, called on President Macky Sall to speak out and give up a candidacy for a third term.

After several statements in which he claimed that he would not run in 2024, Macky Sall now casts doubt on a candidacy. His opponents believe that he is finishing his two legal terms.

Calls for restraint and dialogue have multiplied over the past two days, from several countries, such as France and the United States, international organizations and Senegalese personalities, such as the singer Youssou N’Dour or footballer Sadio Mané.