In the midst of a crisis that has roiled Senegal ahead of presidential elections, opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was brought to critical care following the start of a hunger strike, according to his attorneys on Thursday.
After being accused of inciting deadly violence between his supporters and the security forces, Sonko started the protest on July 30.
According to Cire Cledor Ly, one of his attorneys, he was admitted to the main hospital in Dakar for intensive care.
The attorney, who said he went to the intensive care unit on Thursday, said Sonko “lost consciousness yesterday”.
Sonko was admitted on Wednesday night “after becoming ill,” according to Sonko’s Facebook page and the statements of another attorney, Bamba Cisse, who also claimed Sonko was in intensive care.
AFP approached several government representatives, but they chose not to respond.
Sonko was brought to the hospital on August 6 for emergency care while he was still in prison. His condition is not fully known.
The 49-year-old has gained a large following among Senegal’s youth through vehement criticisms of President Macky Sall, whom he portrays as the leader of a corrupt elite and a would-be dictator.
On June 1, he received a two-year prison sentence after being found guilty of morally corrupting a teenage beauty salon employee.
He claims that the conviction was an attempt to bar him from running in the elections the following year.
At least 16 people were killed in clashes that broke out.
He was detained on July 28 and charged formally three days later with inciting insurrection, engaging in criminal activity, and endangering state security in connection with events that occurred in 2021. A decree to abolish his PASTEF party was also issued.
The government has expressed doubts that he is genuinely observing a hunger strike
