The news sparked the jubilation of thousands of Dakar residents who spontaneously took to the streets of the capital. Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko and his second, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, presidential candidate, were released from prison on Thursday March 14, ten days before the election.
“They came out in front of us. That’s it,” one of their lawyers, Me Cheikh Koureyssi Ba, told AFP. An AFP journalist saw a 4×4 moving away in a procession from the Cape Manuel prison through a considerable crowd drawn by the news of the release, shortly before midnight (local and GMT).
Two hours later, as the procession progressed slowly through Dakar, AFP journalists saw Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in a sky blue tunic and white cap, greeting the crowd with a smile from the sunroof of his car which surrounded his procession. “We saw your support and your solidarity. We are very happy,” he said, before adding “Sonko is free” and announcing the holding of a press conference on Friday.
Sonko disqualified
Ousmane Sonko was not visible in Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s convoy. Main actor in a deadly standoff with power since 2021, Ousmane Sonko was disqualified from the presidential election by the Constitutional Council in January. His camp, with his consent, nominated Bassirou Diomaye Faye as candidate in his place. The candidacy of Bassirou Diomaye Faye is one of the 19 selected for the March 24 ballot.
The release from Cape Manuel prison, yet another twist in the Sonko saga, injects a new reagent with unknown effects into the current electoral campaign. The driving power commonly attributed to Ousmane Sonko and his popularity among young people are likely to influence the dynamics.
Even before the release from prison, the news of which spread like wildfire on social networks, crowds of Dakar residents took to the streets to celebrate, sing and dance. Cars and pedestrians waving Senegalese flags took over the access road to the Cap Manuel prison, south of the capital, where the two opponents were detained. “Gnoune Sonko lanou beug”, (“We love Sonko”), chanted their supporters in Ouolof near the prison.
“It’s incredible”
A compact crowd gathered near Ousmane Sonko’s home, in another district of the capital a few kilometers away. “It’s joy. It’s incredible. They released Ousmane Sonko!” exulted Mamadou Mballo Mané, 31 years old.
Ousmane Sonko, 49 years old, founder and president of the Pastef party, had been detained since July 28, 2023. His arrest completed more than two years of power struggle with the government and the justice system, which gave rise to various episodes of clashes, looting and ransacking.
The release of Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who for many embody the break with the Macky Sall presidency and economically trying years, was anticipated as a major event for several days after the adoption, on March 6, of a law amnesty voted at the instigation of President Macky Sall. Senegal was then going through a serious crisis caused by the postponement of the presidential election and the head of state said he was seeking appeasement around the election, after three years of political agitation. It is not known whether the two opponents were released under the amnesty law. But their release coincides with the deadlines for implementing the law.
Ousmane Sonko endorsed the candidacy of his number two, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The secretary general of Pastef had himself been detained since April 2023. He was charged with contempt of court, defamation and acts likely to compromise public peace, according to one of his lawyers, after the broadcast of a critical message against justice in the Sonko case.
Although much less popular, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, benefiting from the Sonko effect, is considered one of the favorites of the most open presidential election since Independence in 1960. His camp campaigned under the slogan: ” Ousmane mooy Diomaye” (“Ousmane, it’s Diomaye” in Ouolof). He demanded the release of Bassirou Diomaye Fay in the name of equal opportunities between candidates. Bassirou Diomaye Fay has until now been prevented from recording his campaign messages for public television, unlike other competitors.
Bassirou Diomaye Fay’s program declines the themes of the sovereignist and pan-Africanist speech of Ousmane Sonko, who, with his diatribes against “the state mafia”, the multinationals and the economic and political influence exercised according to him by the former power French colonial style, made Pastef a success.