We used to hear that « the time of justice is not the time of men, » but yesterday in the National Assembly, the Prime Minister asserted another principle. According to Ousmane Sonko, « the time of justice must be the time of men, » because « justice is served in the name of the people. » The head of government, who was speaking during the plenary session on current affairs, threatened the opposition and its detractors. According to him, insults in the name of freedom of expression will no longer be tolerated.

The President of the Republic and his Prime Minister are on the same wavelength regarding the issue of the pressure that must be put on the justice system, unlike the Minister of Justice, who maintained that the time of justice is not the time of people. Yesterday, during the Current Affairs session at the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko stated that « the time of justice must be the time of people. » « Why can we put pressure on the President or the Prime Minister, but not on the justice system? Justice is served in the name of the people. This is a fundamental principle, » he insisted.

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According to the Prime Minister, « it must be delivered swiftly. » During this face-to-face meeting with the MPs, Ousmane Sonko gave a lecture on the functioning of the justice system. « The independence of the judiciary does not mean a Republic of judges. The Prosecutor’s Office receives instructions from the Minister of Justice, who is not a judicial authority, but a political authority in the sense that it is a member of the government who leads the latter’s policy in this sector. Criminal policy is determined by the government, not by the magistrates, » he insisted. He added: « What I mean by criminal policy is that in the legal corpus, the State can at any time say that a given issue must be addressed more rigorously or that it must be flexible (…) it must not go beyond what the law allows, but it is the State that defines it. The law states that the government, each minister has the right and even the obligation to refer the matter to the courts if they discover an offense, and even to instruct the courts. It is for reasons of rationality that all of this is placed in the hands of the Minister of Justice. »

«Our penal policy, is zero tolerance»

Taking advantage of the intervention of MP Papa Djibril Fall, the Prime Minister settled his scores with the opposition, which blames him for the arrests linked to crimes of opinion. Very aggressive, he told his detractors: « You lack arguments. Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution, but you are afraid to confront me directly. You prefer to send so-called presenters to insult honest citizens to undermine their dignity. » Visibly annoyed, Ousmane Sonko resorted to threats: « This will no longer pass in the name of freedom. I am accused of being behind these arrests, but I have never arrested anyone. The Minister of Justice, present here, can testify to this. That said, from today on, I take responsibility. »

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Accusing the opposition of supporting presenters who criticize the current regime, the head of government maintains that they will have to come out of the shadows if their columnists end up in prison. « We have a better handle on this than they do, » he boasted. Regarding the spread of fake news, Mr. Sonko warned that there will be zero tolerance. « Our criminal policy is zero tolerance. Freedom of expression is guaranteed, but not for spreading fake news, » he threatened.

By Dieynaba KANE – dkane@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH