Nine people have died during protests that erupted in Dakar and Ziguinchor in Senegal after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison, the country’s Interior Minister Antoine Diome said.
– We have unfortunately witnessed acts of violence that led to the destruction of public and private property and unfortunately nine deaths in Dakar and Ziguinchor, Diome said in a television broadcast.
The 48-year-old Sonko was accused of raping a 20-year-old woman who worked at a massage clinic in 2021. He was also accused of threatening to kill her.
Ousmane Sonko has denied wrongdoing and claimed the charges are politically motivated.
The court acquitted Sonko of rape and death threats and convicted him of inducing a person under the age of 21 to commit inappropriate acts.