He doesn't want to back down. Ousmane Sonko, Senegalese opponent and declared candidate for the 2024 presidential election, began his return trip to Dakar on Friday, May 26. A risky trip for those who are threatened with ineligibility, in a context of arm wrestling with the government.

A long convoy of cars left his home in Ziguinchor, an AFP correspondent said.

Images broadcast live on social networks then showed the procession progressing a few dozen kilometers away, on the side of Goudomp, Ousmane Sonko perched in shirt on a vehicle enhanced by the Senegalese flag, and clusters of enthusiastic young people running behind.

The approximately 500 kilometres between Ziguinchor and Dakar can be covered in about nine hours via The Gambia. But Ousmane Sonko should bypass Gambia and lengthen his journey by about 350 km.

His party's spokesman, Ousseynou Ly, said he could not say when Sonko would arrive in Dakar.

A "caravan of freedom"

This is a new act of defiance against the government on the part of Ousmane Sonko, a few days after his refusal to appear before a court to be tried for rape. He remained reclusive for several days at home in Ziguinchor, where he is the mayor, his villa closely guarded by young people determined to ward off a possible arrest attempt.

Ousmane Sonko, president of the Pastef-les Patriotes party, third in the presidential election in 2019, a divisive but popular personality among the under-20s, denounces his trial as a plot by the government to remove him from the presidential election. He said he wanted to turn his return to Dakar into a "caravan of freedom".

>> READ ALSO: Ousmane Sonko, the fierce opponent of Macky Sall who dreams of succeeding him

The criminal chamber that sat in his absence on Tuesday is due to deliver its verdict on June 1, and tension is rising as that deadline approaches.

The mobilization of his supporters, especially during his meetings with the justice system, has regularly given rise to incidents and disturbances, including fatal ones.

Ousmane Sonko risks losing his eligibility, already compromised by a six-month suspended sentence for defamation against a minister.

The government denies any instrumentalization of justice and evokes a private matter. He warned before the departure of Ousmane Sonko from Ziguinchor that he would enforce the order "whatever it takes".

With AFP

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