Africa
Senegalese Opposition Leader Sonko Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For “Corrupting Young People
Mr Sonko would have been stripped of his electoral rights if he had been convicted in absentia of a crime such as rape.
On Thursday, a criminal court in Dakar sentenced Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko, a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, to two years imprisonment on a charge of “corrupting young people”, while acquitting him of rape.
The criminal division also sentenced Mr Sonko’s co-accused, Ndèye Khady Ndiaye, the owner of the beauty salon where Mr Sonko was accused of repeatedly abusing a female employee, to two years imprisonment.
The “corruption of youth”, which consists of poaching or encouraging the debauchery of a young person under the age of 21, is an offence under Senegalese law, and not a crime like rape, a lawyer present at the hearing, Ousmane Thiam, told AFP.
Mr Sonko would have been stripped of his electoral rights if he had been convicted in absentia of a crime such as rape.
However, the reclassification of the offence as a misdemeanour under the electoral code appears to maintain the threat of ineligibility for Mr Sonko and his ability to stand in the 2024 presidential election.