Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on Tuesday rejected the court’s ruling and called for his supporters to join mass protests on Friday, reported The Reuters.
On Monday, a court increased Sonko’s suspended sentence to six months for defaming Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang. The court has also asked him to pay damages worth 200 million CFA francs (around $330,000) to Niang.
The extended sentence potentially threatens his candidacy in upcoming presidential elections.
“Nobody can prevent me from being a candidate,” Sonko said in a speech streamed online. “What happened yesterday is not a travesty of justice but judicial banditry.”
He claimed that President Macky Sall’s government is using the judiciary to sideline him from the upcoming elections, and his possible elimination would significantly alter the contest. He reiterated a call for civil disobedience and resistance.
“I repeat my call for resistance and ask the Senegalese to stand up and face Macky Sall,” he said.
The Senegalese opposition leader didn’t say if he is going to appeal the court’s ruling at the Supreme Court within the six-day deadline. He appealed to his supporters to join an opposition rally scheduled for Friday in the capital Dakar in large numbers.
The 48-year-old Sonko came third in the 2019 presidential election against incumbent President Sall and intends to stand again next year.
He is also facing trial over a complaint filed by an employee at a beauty salon where he went for a massage. The salon employee accused him of alleged rape and death threats.
Sonko claims that he is a victim of a government plot to eliminate his candidacy. The government has denied the accusation.
Back in 2021, the rape charge against him led to riots that left at least 12 people dead. The court’s ruling in the rape case could also affect his electoral eligibility. The next hearing is scheduled for May 16.
