Dakar – A Senegalese appeal court on Wednesday postponed a ruling in a politically-charged case involving the mayor of Dakar, convicted of killing a man during a wave of political violence.
The court said it would extend its deliberations to September 21, but gave no reason for the decision.
Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias, a fierce opponent of President Macky Sall, is seeking to overturn a sentence for the 2011 killing of a wrestler named Ndiaga Diouf during a rally that turned violent.
Large numbers of police deployed in and around the courthouse and anti-riot vehicles were placed at key intersections in the capital, reflecting the sensitivity of the case.
Dias, 46, was elected city mayor in February, riding a wave of support for leading opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, and there is speculation that he himself has presidential ambitions.
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Diouf was shot dead during an assault by alleged sympathisers of then-president Abdoulaye Wade on a district town hall in Dakar where Dias was local mayor at the time.
The violence occurred amid growing protests against Wade’s bid for a third term in office.
Dias was sentenced in 2017 to a six-month prison term and 18 months’ suspended in a trial in which he appeared alongside a dozen other defendants.
His appeal began in March.
Two other prominent opponents of President Sall – the former mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall (no relation) and former minister Karim Wade, who is the son of the ex-president – have seen their political careers hampered by legal troubles.
Sonko, meanwhile, has been under investigation for alleged rape since 2021.
All say they are victims of a conspiracy, a claim denied by the government.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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