Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been sentenced to two years in jail for “corrupting youth”. The judge, however, acquitted him of rape.
The 48-year-old 2019 presidential election was found to have acted immorally towards an individual younger than 21.
The charges stemmed from allegations made by a massage therapist.
Sonko denied the allegations, saying said the case was aimed at blocking his presidential ambitions.
Sonko boycotted the trial and remained at his house in the city as of Thursday, 01 June.
One of his lawyers, Abdy Nar Ndiaye, was quoted as saying it was suspicious that the judge had not ordered Sonko’s immediate arrest. He said:
This means that their objective is not to arrest Sonko, but to keep him out of the next elections.
The government has rejected accusations that the cases against Sonko are politically motivated.
Sonko was accused of sexually assaulting and threatening a massage therapist at a beauty saloon in 2021.
The complainant was 20 when she made the accusations, which he denied.
Sonko said he went to the saloon for a massage for chronic back pain and that the case against him was politically motivated.
The owner of the beauty salon, Ndeye Khady Ndiaye, was also sentenced to two years in prison by the judge for “corrupting youth”.
Sonko is reported to be popular amongst Senegal’s unemployed youth.
He was elected to parliament and became mayor of the southern city of Ziguinchor following his dismissal as a chief tax inspector in Senegal in 2016.
He ran in the 2019 presidential elections, coming third.
Sonko was arrested in 2021 for disrupting public order and his arrest sparked clashes that left at least a dozen people dead.
More: Pindula News