Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has strongly criticized Western nations for attempting to impose homosexuality on the African nation, following the recent passage of a law that significantly increases penalties for same-sex relationships.
The controversial legislation, which doubles prison sentences for homosexual acts to five to ten years, was approved by Senegal’s National Assembly in early March and signed into law by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on March 31. This move comes amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and a series of arrests for alleged homosexuality in the predominantly Muslim West African country.
« There is a kind of tyranny at work, » declared Sonko during a heated address to parliament. « We are eight billion people on Earth, yet a small Western bloc—despite internal divisions—uses its media dominance to force its views on the rest of the world. On what grounds? »
The Prime Minister dismissed Western criticism, particularly from France, stating, « If they have chosen these practices, that is their concern. We will accept no lessons from them—absolutely none. »
No moratorium on enforcement
Sonko categorically rejected calls for a moratorium on the law’s implementation, pushing back against a mid-May appeal from a group of about thirty African-origin intellectuals published in a French newspaper. The signatories warned of a « climate of fear, hatred, and violence » gripping Senegal since the law’s passage.
« There will be no moratorium, » Sonko asserted. « Some of our elites suffer from inferiority complexes. » He emphasized that the justice system must ensure the law’s « full, impartial, and rigorous » enforcement, adding that its primary goal is to « eradicate the spread of homosexuality. »
Same-sex relationships remain widely stigmatized in Senegal, where the new legislation has been a long-standing political promise for the ruling party, resonating strongly with the electorate.
