According to attorneys for Ousmane Sonko and his victim, a Senegalese judge has mandated that Sonko stand trial for an alleged rape.
Sonko, a 48-year-old former tax inspector, has refuted the accusation and claims that President Macky Sall is to blame for his misfortune.
According to the plaintiff’s attorney, El Hadji Diouf, the judge approved an order on Tuesday referring Sonko’s case to a criminal court for the alleged offenses he was charged with in 2021, including rape and death threats.
“She is satisfied. She appreciates the fact that, despite the campaign of lies and manipulation by Sonko’s supporters who are afraid of the trial, the judge stood firm,” he said.
Cheik Khoureyssi Ba, one of Sonko’s attorneys, emphasised that the order was subject to judicial dispute and declared that Sonko’s legal team intended to file an appeal.
Sonko has claimed that the rape claim is a part of a plot to derail his bid for president in 2024. His detractors label the divisive politician a populist firebrand.
Sonko, who finished third in the 2019 presidential election in Senegal, has quickly risen through the political ranks in part due to his appeal to young people, and he has proclaimed himself a candidate for the 2024 elections.
Sonko’s fans applaud his attempts to speak out against social elitism and corruption as well as the economic and political sway of multinational corporations and France, Senegal’s former colonial power.
His indictment in March 2021 sparked unrest that resulted in the deaths of almost a dozen individuals. In an area where political unrest is common, Senegal is known for its general stability.
Several other well-known president opponents in previous years have had their political careers ended by court challenges. Authorities have denied that state institutions were abused in Sonko’s judicial case.
