By Maraina Hydara
A bitter exchange of accusations has erupted between supporters of Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye following Sonko’s recent appearance in Touba, where he launched strong criticisms against the president.
The first response came from Prime Minister Al Aminou Lô, who criticised what he described as attempts to claim exclusive ownership of patriotism.
“Seeking to make patriotism the monopoly of a single camp is, precisely, a betrayal of it,” Lô said in a pointed message directed at Sonko, who had welcomed him to the tenth floor of the Mamadou Dia Administrative Building in April 2024.
Former Minister of Higher Education Abdourahmane Diouf also joined the criticism against his former prime minister, accusing Sonko of taking a position that contradicted his previous role within the government.
The remarks triggered a strong reaction from former Secretary of State Momath Talla Ndao, who described Diouf as lacking consistency despite his public image as an intellectual.
“My surprise after working alongside El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf: a double-faced person. The appearance of an intellectual, wrapped in sophisticated language, barely conceals a man lacking substance and serious experience,” Ndao said.
The two had previously served together in government and attended weekly Council of Ministers meetings.
Former Minister of Culture Amadou Bâ also criticised Sonko’s allies before Abass Fall, former Labour Minister, joined the exchanges with a sharp attack on Lô and Diouf.
“A small prime minister, a master of bowing and submission, with no moral values, who thrives on division in order to exist; he has never had the courage of his convictions,” Fall said, adding that public statements by some officials differed from their private positions.
He also accused the government of failing to address national challenges, including electricity shortages.
The growing exchange reflects a widening political divide between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko, former allies who rose to power together under the banner of the Pastef movement.
The dispute has transformed into a public battle of words among former colleagues who once shared the same political platform and campaigned for similar objectives, with tensions continuing to deepen between the two factions.