In Senegal, a popular opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, is to face trial for alleged rape according to the prosecution judge. However, this was revealed by the lawyers for Sonko and his plaintiff.
Sonko is being convicted of raping a woman who worked in a massage parlour and later intimidating her to kill her.
It should be recalled that Sonko came third in Senegal’s presidential election in 2019 and has been well known after gaining swift political fame among young people in Senegal.
Unfortunately, he has been battling with legal troubles for instance he has been blamed for rape by an employee of a beauty salon where he had gone for a massage.
This former tax inspector Soko has rejected the charge and claims he is the victim of a plot by President Macky Sall.
According to the plaintiff’s lawyer El Hadji, the judges on Tuesdays signed a document ordering to send Sonko’s case to a criminal court for reported crimes he was accused of within 2021.
Sonko’s supporters argued that the case is an attempt by Senegal’s President Macky Sall, 61, to blackmail his political rival.
However, Sall’s second term expires in 2024 but he has declared whether he will return for a third term. Therefore if the trial succeeds it could slow down Sonko’s intention to contest for the presidency in the 2024 election.
It’s on record that numerous other prominent opposers of the president have had their political zeals turned down by legal cases.
Commenting on this, authorities have rejected any misuse of state institutions in the legal proceedings against Sonko.
