If the depths of the sea are splendid, you risk drowning if you stay there too long. Ousmane Sonko, who is in the logic of pairing up with like-minded political and state leaders, has brought a guest with him whose speech will be the talk of the town. At Ucad yesterday, Jean-Luc Mélenchon delivered a pro-gay speech to students. They escorted him with applause.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is about to become a troublesome guest for Sonko. At Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University, the founder of La France insoumise made no secret of promoting homosexuality. He says: “I’m the first French legislator to have tabled a bill on the possibility of same-sex marriage…” Then he adds in a plea: “But I would think that this freedom of love should be open to all.” The students, who earlier booed Rector Ahmadou Aly Mbaye for reasons no doubt linked to the long closure of Ucad’s social and educational campuses, applauded the French political leader, a distinguished guest of the Pastef party, which rolled out the red carpet for him.

Launch of the Brt: New Dawn in Dakar

“On this phenomenon in particular, I would like to say that Senegal and other African countries cannot accept any hint of imposing the legalization of this phenomenon on them,” replied the Prime Minister, in an attempt to kill off any potential controversy at once, which would be unwelcome for this fledgling regime. And, also a way of showing that he has no intention of revising his position on this issue.

However, this plea in favor of Lgbt+ from his distinguished guest is going to be a pebble in Mr. Ousmane Sonko’s shoe. Back in his opposition days, he had maintained without blinking: “If I’m elected President of Senegal, the law criminalizing homosexuality will be one of the first I’ll pass.” Sarkozy’s speech in Dakar on July 26, 2007, when he argued at Ucad 2 that “the African man has not made enough history”, caused an uproar in the African intellectual and academic world. Yesterday’s remark by the French MP in Dakar, in the Temple of Knowledge, which was packed with student activists who didn’t appreciate its significance, will also continue to resonate in the amphitheatre of Ucad 2. Of course, it is also likely to provoke outraged reactions from the defenders of public morality. They had complained about Charles Michel’s visit to Dakar after his audience with President Diomaye Faye because of his pro-gay stance. What will they say now?

An American Carnage Made In Senegal

Macky Sall also found himself in the crosshairs of some, during Barack Obama’s visit to Dakar in 2013, because of this sentence he uttered to the Senegalese President: “Senegal is not ready to legalize homosexuality. That’s Senegal’s option, while respecting the rights of homosexuals. But we are not prepared to lift this law. It’s a question that should be left to society, which will resolve it as mentalities evolve. The decriminalization of homosexuality is like the death penalty. Opinions are divided on this. We abolished the death penalty years ago in Senegal, but other countries have not. Senegal is a tolerant country, but not ready to legalize homosexuality. On this question, there is no fixed model applicable to all countries.” For Mélenchon, there is… because it’s a question of “freedom of love that must be open to all”.

By Bocar SAKHO / bsakho@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH