2023-06-08 13:34:10
The verdict is in, Ousmane Sonko is sentenced to two years for… youth corruption. We will have to be satisfied with it in the meantime.
However, this verdict surprises many Senegalese. Certainly no one is supposed to ignore the law, but how many litigants were aware of this protection given to young people? With the exception of a few lawyers and enarques, including Mr. Sonko, not many people.
Therefore, this verdict can be difficult to understand.
It should be remembered that in Senegal, rape has been criminalized and the minimum penalty incurred is 10 years.
It is true that recognizing more rights for women is legitimate and, above all, let’s face it, it’s fashionable.
However, everyone agrees that rape is difficult to prove, so let’s put ourselves in the judge’s shoes, the legislator is asking him to put in prison for at least 10 years someone whose guilt does not rest not on irrefutable evidence.
Remember that rape is to be dissociated from violence. A verbal refusal is enough to express the lack of consent and if it is followed by conjunction, rape can be characterized.
The layman in the matter that I am wonders if there is not an asymmetry between the severity of the sentence and the lightness of the evidence?
One of my acquaintances said to me: “if the simple fact of saying no is synonymous with rape, then there is reason to be worried because for me as soon as a girl entered my room it means that she was consenting and to say “no” was part of the game”. Maybe other Senegalese will recognize themselves there too…
Since the law was voted, it would be useful to have comparative statistics of the number of prisoners sentenced to 10 years or more, as well as to collect the opinion of the magistrates. In the end, we will know if this law has advanced the cause of women or if it has rather served it?
In any case, for such a macho society and which advocates the “massla” on these issues, this law brings a brutal evolution.
The magistrates who are the arbiters of all the problems of society know it better than anyone.
Are they really comfortable with the criminalization of rape?
Moreover, the legislator had good intentions. Indeed, protecting ourselves from facts as serious as rape contributes to the moralization of society. So much the better.
However, in the light of the events of recent months relating precisely to questions of rape, it would be judicious to evaluate the morality of society and that of the politicians so quick to give lessons and pass laws.
No need to look far, Sonko is a revealing sample of this new generation of politicians
– A candidate for the highest office was charged with rape and death threats, it was reclassified, and he is found guilty of adultery on a girl barely older than his children. Nothing to be proud of!
– An inventory of Mr. Sonko’s statements over the years shows that lies hold a prominent place in his speech. From his first Facebook post denying having been there, to the approval of therapeutic massages that the State would have granted to the beauty salon and that he would have verified, until the refusal of a DNA test which could have proven his statements, Mr. Sonko is angry with the truth and apparently he is too proud to take the first step towards it.
– He starts a deadly fight that draws a lot of blood.
Adultery, lies and bloodshed, the panoply of immorality is complete. And to think that this is what a large part of the people celebrates with violent demonstrations. The real scandal is there, idolizing someone who should have razed the walls.
Mocking comments from journalists abound on foreign channels, who do not understand that in Senegal the country is on fire for facts that would have forever disqualified any public figure in their country.
In Sweden, for example, a minister had resigned for having bought a chocolate with the State’s bank card, in France the President of the National Assembly was forced to leave office for having organized a lobster dinner at the expense of the State.
In these countries the citizens are demanding with themselves and with their leaders.
We are very far from this level of requirement and rigour. Moreover, some observers sometimes mention the need to carry out a “national ndeupp”. Personally, I don’t know the therapeutic effectiveness of these practices, but let’s recognize that something is wrong in the country of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba and El Hadj Malick (to name but a few).
The New Type of Senegalese remained a vague slogan.
It is time for the intellectuals, university professors and sages of this country to call for collective introspection, it does not matter if they are contradicted by uneducated and reckless chroniclers. They have to do violence to each other, but they must not give up.
For intellectuals who are not corrupted by their prejudice and their affection towards a man, there are still some in this country. Those will never compare what happened at Sweet bbeauté with the condemnation of Socrates who was criticized for his method of questioning, his questioning of traditional beliefs and his influence on youth. Socrates worked to develop the intellect of young people. Nothing to do with those who push small disadvantaged young people to develop the trade of their private parts.
If there were to be a comparison, it would rather be with the American singer R. Kelly, accused of having enjoyed an “operating system for young women”.
Moreover, the certainties and peremptory affirmations of our remarkable intellectuals may surprise.
Indeed, we were accustomed to doubt, nuance and questioning with the wise.
Their Socratic reference makes me think of Plato who said: “He who loves is blind to what he loves”. It’s true that their “mous sell mi” fellow looks more like a sympathetic oustaz than a criminal, if these nerds fall under his spell, it’s only human.
But let’s go back to 2023. In a normal society, the scenes of looting of Auchan stores must raise several questions.
Is the thieves’ loot brought home? How do parents react? Are their thefts shared with them?
Are these lootings condemned by the political actors and the civil society as it should not only from the angle of the maintenance of order but especially that of morality. The absence of morality in a society constitutes in itself the first danger to public order and to community life.
We hear analysts explaining this by the difficulties of young people. Poverty does not justify everything. You can be deprived without being “badola”. Employment and training issues should not be confused with looting where the loot consists of big screen televisions or state-of-the-art phones, such thefts are in no way linked to a survival instinct. It’s banditry and “niak diom”
Besides, “badoloism” disturbs fewer and fewer people. This society is experiencing a real crisis of values, it is not surprising that we have such a political class.
All this is the failure of the school of the republic, of the parents, of the “daaras”, of the various social regulators and religious actors.
The majority camp is no exception.
The President said recently, “If you want the warrant, ask me properly.”
– So Mr. President would you have the infinite kindness, kindness and magnanimity not to run for a third term, if only to avoid the dishonor of swallowing your word?
Moreover, he is accused of eliminating his political adversaries through legal means by preventing the expression of democratic choices. It is important that this feeling of injustice stops. Justice must explain more to the people the decisions it takes.
However, it would not be fair either to require that a candidate be eligible despite having done and in defiance of court decisions.
Democracy is a gentlemen’s affair between political actors, but it also requires citizens to respect institutions and majority rule. In this area we still have a lot to learn. When the street speaks loudly, we must not forget that many citizens remain silent, and it is the law and democracy that must decide between them.
The reasons for the anger of young people are not lacking, it goes without saying. If we want to be optimistic, we would say that these young people who demonstrate aspire to a more virtuous society, which is why, for lack of anything better (according to them), they cling to Sonko by closing their eyes and stopping their noses despite his nauseating acts. But “dogs don’t make cats”, to believe that virtue will spring from vice is to delude oneself.
But even more worrying, while we discuss the libidinal perversity or not of an opponent, we forget to carry out a rigorous analysis of his proposals for the future of the country, some of which are not unrelated to the looting of Auchan stores ( “France Dégage” or “let France leave us alone”). We thought we’d hit rock bottom, but we broke through again.
The relevance and feasibility of the programs are as important as the moral qualities of the leaders, because the economic crises that could arise from outlandish programs are fertile ground for the decay of values.
Everything has been said and repeated to demonstrate the shortcomings, faults and reprehensible attitudes of Sonko and many other politicians, but nothing helps. In truth, these people are the mirror of this society which is reduced to thinking that the only counter value worth fighting for is homosexuality. We are often blinded by the illusion of our good qualities, while our flaws, like shadows beneath, faithfully follow.
For something misfortune is good, when this emotion and this anger will have fallen, when the Senegalese look each other in the eye and when everyone remembers the role they played and examines their conscience. We can do it.
It would still be necessary that we are neither corrupted by a few tickets nor distracted by the rhythm of a few sabar.
Sheikh Ndiaye
Retirement
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#Origin #Sonkos #Blood #Adultery #Lies