In Senegal, opponent Ousmane Sonko, vice and president of the Pastef Party, elected mayor of Ziguinchor in late January, spoke on Friday evening, March 11, during a lengthy television interview with several national media.
as reported from Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
Ousmane Sonko returned especially to the trial, at the outbreak of the deadly riots in March 2021, namely the complaint of rape that Adji Sarr filed against him. When asked by RFI, Ousmane Sonko did not respond to our requests for an interview in this case. One year after the demonstrations that led to at least 13 deaths, Ousmane Sonko has once again condemned a “political conspiracy” and maintains his radical line as “opponent number 1” to Macky Sall’s regime.
The interview with five journalists, in the Wolof language – an alleged election – lasted two and a half hours. Asked about the legal case in which he is being prosecuted, Ousmane Sonko confirms: “Senegalese justice is complicit in a conspiracy. There is nothing in this file that can worry me, “he said.
The leader of Pastef, who is still under judicial control, shows his diplomatic passport in front of the camera and requests that his regular passport be returned.
Read also: Senegal: Adji Sarr comes out of silence a year after his accusations against Ousmane Sonko
True to his sovereignist and anti-colonial discourse, the new mayor of Ziguinchor reconsiders his decision to rename the streets of his city bearing the names of French personalities. He promises, if elected to the presidency, to “renegotiate contracts with foreign companies”. He also accuses France of being behind the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS, in Mali, while assuring: “I have nothing against the French people”.
A line without concessions, with perspective, the parliamentary elections in July and especially the next presidential election. While President Macky Sall maintains the vagueness of a possible candidacy for a third term, Ousmane Sonko assures him: his next meeting with the head of state will be “the transfer of office to the palace in 2024,” he said.
