Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years inn prison, but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. Sonko placed third in Senegal’s 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country’s youth. His supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Sonko is considered President Macky Sall’s main competition and has urged Sall to state publicly that he will not seek a third term in office. For more insight and a deeper perspective on Sonko’s conviction and what it could mean in the leadup to the 2024 presidential election, FRANCE 24 is joined by Paul Melly, Chatham House Consulting Fellow for the Africa Programme & Reporter/Researcher on the Sahel, West Africa and Madagascar.

Source: France24.com