DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – Anti-riot police from armed personnel fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds in the Senegalese capital on Monday after authorities released opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from custody after days of violent protests in one of the most stable democracies in West Africa.
After his release, the 46-year-old politician blamed his arrest on President Macky Sall, accusing the incumbent leader of seeking to lose his future political prospects before the country’s 2024 elections. While Sonko publicly accused the president of plunging Senegal into an unprecedented crisis, the opposition leader said his goal was not to force Sall from power.
“We do not want to take responsibility for undermining our democracy,” he wrote on Twitter late Monday. “But let’s be clear, the revolution is underway by 2024.”
At least eight people have died since the riots began last week, according to Amnesty International, marking the worst unrest in Senegal in nearly a decade.
Sonko is widely regarded as the president’s biggest potential political challenger in the next election, and protests that began on Wednesday have been fueled by broader, long-running grievances with the Sall administration.
The two men addressed the nation in back-to-back remarks Monday night: first Sonko, then the president.
Sall told Senegalese families that he knew he was suffering from the economic recession of COVID-19 and that the ensuing poverty only fueled dissatisfaction with his government. He agreed to reduce the nightgown that many merchants blame for deepening their difficulties.
“I understand your concerns and the anger you feel for the hard life you have to live, mainly because of the high unemployment of COVID-19,” Sall said. “But when you rob a business you don’t create jobs, you destroy them.”
Some supporters of Sonko, however, have indicated that they will continue their civil disobedience even after their leader was released on parole by a judge on Monday. A crowd of loud supporters descended on the downtown courthouse waving Senegalese flags and then made their way to his residence.
Protesters tried to undermine Sall’s trade ties with former colonizer France by attacking more than a dozen supermarkets opened by French retailer Auchan. Protesters in Dakar also targeted total gas stations.
The sight of burned cars and loaded shops is a rarity in Senegal, which has never suffered the military coups and dictatorships that have destabilized so many of its West African neighbors in the last half century.
Demonstrations began for the first time on Wednesday before Sonko’s initial court appearance for questioning allegations of rape. He was detained on his way to court and arrested for disturbing public order after hundreds of his supporters clashed with police blocking unauthorized protests. He has now been charged with rape and death threats.
Sonko, a populist who spoke out against corruption and poverty, finished third in the 2019 presidential election with just over 15% of the ballots cast, garnering strong support from younger voters. His message of greater economic independence for Senegal attracted an even wider audience, amid the financial difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst turmoil and other traffic restrictions.
Sonko also asked the president on Monday to publicly relinquish a third term. After easily winning re-election in 2019 with more than 58% of the vote, his opponents fear he will try to extend his term by a third term, as did the presidents of neighboring Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire last year. . However, Sall has not yet publicly commented on his intentions.
While Sall has been credited with infrastructure and development projects, his critics say progress has come along with distancing political rivals. Two other rising political stars have previously faced accusations from their supporters, who said they were politically motivated.
Karim Wade, the son of President Sall defeated in 2012, was once widely seen as an heir before being charged with corruption the following year. He eventually spent three years in prison before going into exile abroad in Qatar. Former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, considered a top candidate at one point in the 2019 elections, was arrested in 2017 on corruption charges and later pardoned after the vote.
The leaders of the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Senegal urged the protesters to show restraint in the coming days.
“Every Senegalese has the right to comment on the situation in the country, but with respect for institutions and without destroying public or private property,” said Serigne Mansour Sy. “We call for peace and serenity.”