Why Protests Have Engulfed Normally Peaceful Senegal

The arrest for alleged rape of a popular opposition leader in Senegal has triggered mass protests, undermining the nation’s reputation as a bastion of stability in West Africa. At least eight people died in running battles between stone-throwing mobs and riot police in the capital, Dakar, and elsewhere, with stores looted and torched. The U.S. and former colonial power France joined Senegal’s neighbors in calling for restraint. Quelling the unrest could prove the greatest challenge yet for President Macky Sall, who coasted to a second straight victory in elections two years ago.

They claim the charge is the latest trumped-up allegation against an opposition figure. Protests erupted after Ousmane Sonko, who came third in the 2019 presidential vote, was accused of rape by a beauty salon employee, had his parliamentary immunity revoked and was summoned to court. His accuser went into hiding after her identity was made public, and civil rights groups have called for justice to take its course. On bail pending trial, the 46-year-old Sonko said the charge is bogus and aimed at derailing his political career. The Movement to Defend Democracy coalition, a driving force for the protests, also points to the imprisonment of two opposition figures -- former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, the son of ex-President Abdoulaye Wade -- that kept them out of the 2019 elections. Although both were pardoned, they’re now ineligible to stand for public office. The heavy-handed response to the protesters, with Interior Minister Antoine Felix Diome accusing them of insurrection, further inflamed tensions.