Senegal’s President Faye sacks PM Sonko after months of tensions

Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of tensions, deepening a crisis in the debt-laden west African nation.

The shock announcement was made on state television in a decree read out by presidential aide Oumar Samba Ba, who said Faye “has ended the duties of Ousmane Sonko… and consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Senegal is in the unusual situation of having a president who owes his position in large part to his prime minister, who would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running due to a defamation conviction.

Relations between Faye and the charismatic Sonko, his one-time mentor, have soured in recent months.

Their Pastef party won outright in the first round in March 2024 elections on a promise of a profound political shake-up, vowing to fight what they said was corruption and mismanagement of government affairs.

Despite Sonko’s popular appeal, Faye holds all the real power as president and can fire his head of government with a simple decree.

Sonko generated a passionate following among Senegal’s disaffected youth ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

He struck a chord in particular with his pan-Africanist rhetoric and tough stance on former colonial power France.

In a thunderous outburst to their Pastef party faithful in early July, Sonko accused Faye of a “failure of leadership” by not backing him up enough against his many critics