Senegalese Politics Has Taken An Interesting Turn: President Sacks Prime Minister

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Something very interesting is happening in Senegal or has happened in Senegal.

[00:00:04]Now, the Prime Minister has been sacked by the president.

[00:00:13]>> [music] >> The the the two very um should I say very very Ah, how should I put it?

[00:00:22]Brothers who were supposed to run a country successfully have now parted ways. Now, their bromance, the kind of friendship we saw which was we believed was going to lead to a prosperous Senegal has ended.

[00:00:38]Now, I believe this should be a Netflix movie because whatever is happening in Senegal is a very interesting one. Now, I want I'm going to explain to you why this is interesting. Now, my name is Lucky. This is Let's Cook. Subscribe to the channel.

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[00:01:12]Now, Senegal is um a country known for so many things. You understand? Like football. They are the nation that won the the World Cup uh the the African Cup of Nations, sorry. a few months ago which have now been taken away from them by Morocco. But anyways, that is not why we are here. Now, the interesting story has to do with politics inside um Senegal. The president has sacked the Prime Minister. Now, the Prime Minister is more like the Vice President, okay?

[00:01:44]So, when you don't hear Vice President, it is the same thing. Basically the same thing.

[00:01:49]Now, why is this interesting? Why do we have to take a look at Senegal Senegalese politics?

[00:01:56]Now, this is what happened. Let me give you a backstory.

[00:01:59]Now, the vice president or the prime minister and then the president are very good friends.

[00:02:06]They were very good friends became before they became um they came into power or they assumed office.

[00:02:13]Now, Ousmane Sonko is the prime minister and then the president is Bassirou Diomaye Faye. He's the president. Now, before the elections, before they assumed office, Bassirou Ousmane Bassirou Diomaye Faye was a lesser-known figure in Senegalese politics.

[00:02:36]Ousmane Sonko was the main man. He was the front-liner. He was the man the youth was wanted to become president.

[00:02:45]But something happened. Now, during um the the the months or prior to the months to elections, the um the government then found a way to convict Ousmane uh Ousmane Sonko of some um fraudulent is it tax fraudulent or some some convictions. Now, in Senegal, when you're convicted of any crime, you can't assume or you can't run for presidency.

[00:03:16]Due to this, Ousmane Sonko got confused. He said, "What am I going to do?" Now, that is when he decided to go in for the tax collector, a lesser-known um person who is in the name of Bassirou Ousmane uh Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

[00:03:33]Now, he was a tax collector who was not known in the public space. Who was not known to be any any uh who was not popular in Senegalese politics. Now, Ousmane Sonko went in for his friend and then told him that, "This is the situation I'm facing. Okay, I I run. I can't um be I can't become a president because of this convictions or because they used the then incumbent government used the court to convict me.

[00:04:02]Now I want you to lead and then I'll back you.

[00:04:06]Also Diao Ma Ifi understood the assignment and then he said he was going to lead become the main person. So he led the PASTEF party, that is the party of Ousmane Sonko. He led the party and then they campaigned on the slogan that Diao Ma Ifi is Sonko.

[00:04:24]Basically saying that whoever you see, if you are seeing Diao Ma Ifi, it is the same person as me, Sonko.

[00:04:33]So that that was their campaign slogan and then they won by a landslide.

[00:04:38]After they won Diao Ma Ifi went in for his friend, his brother, his best friend, Ousmane Sonko to become the prime minister.

[00:04:48]Now everybody thought this was a match made in heaven. We saw we saw the crowds, they were very happy. Everybody was thinking change is actually coming to Senegal.

[00:04:59]Now everything was going on right, everything. They won by a landslide.

[00:05:03]They assumed office, everything was going on right.

[00:05:07]But guess what?

[00:05:09]When we when you have two captains in the same ship the ship sinks.

[00:05:16]Now when everything was going on right, we all know that Ousmane Sonko was a firebrand. He believed in nationalization of resources in the country.

[00:05:28]He believed in radical reforms.

[00:05:30]He was like he was like the What is this? The South African man, Julius Malema of South Africa, who believed in Pan-Africanism and nationalization of resources in the country and then radical reforms. Now, that is what the youth was looking for.

[00:05:51]That is why they gathered support. That is why they supported Ousmane Sonko and Diomaye Faye to win elections and become presidents in the country of Senegal.

[00:06:03]Now, something interesting happened.

[00:06:06]Okay, they have very opposing views.

[00:06:10]Diomaye Faye believes in the long run.

[00:06:13]He believes we have to go by the book.

[00:06:15]He believes that we have to keep relations with the international we have to keep international relations basically.

[00:06:23]It means we have to do everything by records, by documents and stuff.

[00:06:28]But, Diomaye Ousmane Sonko on the other hand wants radical reforms. He wants things to be changed now because we've we've gone by the books for so long and then the country is still the same.

[00:06:41]Why don't you put some radical reforms in place and then get things moving.

[00:06:48]Now, that is their fight. That is their um their their that is what caused their bromance to fall. So, the prime minister, that is Ousmane Sonko, went to parliament and said that he's not going to follow anybody blindly.

[00:07:07]Basically responding to the president, Diomaye Faye, saying that I'm not going to follow what you're telling me. I'm not going to just be there and then play second fiddle to whatever you're saying. Now, Diomaye Faye believe or realizing that he's the main person, he's the person in charge, he's the person who has been given power, also responded saying that if confidence is broken, the prime minister will be gone.

[00:07:36]Now, on 22nd May 2026, the president, then Faye, in a decree announced that he had dismissed or he has sacked the Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

[00:07:49]Now, it came as a shock to everybody because they were very good friends, they were brothers. And then Ousmane Sonko literally brought you Diomaye Faye to assume president or to become president.

[00:08:03]Now, why then do you take such decisions?

[00:08:07]Now, nobody knows.

[00:08:08]So, everybody is believing that Ousmane Sonko's career was political career was going to take a nosedive. But guess what?

[00:08:16]Ousmane Sonko took to social media and then said this.

[00:08:20]He said, "Praise be to God.

[00:08:22]Tonight, I will sleep with a light heart."

[00:08:27]Just putting together or just um throwing the the the assertions in the minds of the public in Senegal saying that he had I've taken the backseat.

[00:08:39]And then anything that goes on, blame the president Diomaye Faye.

[00:08:44]Now, PASTEF is the party of Ousmane Sonko who has the large majority in parliament.

[00:08:51]Guess what?

[00:08:53]The the parliament uh the the speaker of parliament has resigned.

[00:08:58]So, Ousmane Sonko is beginning to shift pieces in his political career. So, the parliament or the speaker of parliament has resigned because he's the main man of Ousmane Sonko and then he belonged to the party of Ousmane Sonko.

[00:09:15]Now, he resigned to pave way for Ousmane Sonko to assume the position of the speaker of parliament.

[00:09:23]Now, that is why it is interesting.

[00:09:25]Okay? Because we all believe that Ousmane Sonko's career would die. But he has shifted pieces and then he has now been elected as the speaker of parliament. Now, you would think that why or how did it become or how was he elected as the speaker of parliament?

[00:09:42]Now, he was a member of parliament before becoming the the prime minister. Now, in 2022, when he became the prime minister, he had to leave his um member of parliament position.

[00:09:58]Now, when he got sacked, he had to be reinstated.

[00:10:02]And then now, when the speaker of parliament resigned, they voted for him because he had majority. The PASTEF party had majority of parliamentarians in parliament, making it easier for uh Ousmane Sonko to become the speaker of parliament.

[00:10:22]>> [clears throat] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> Now, it is interesting to to note that anything any decision the president was going to make would go through parliament. Now, Ousmane Sonko, who had been sacked by the president, is now the speaker of parliament. It means every decision you take had to has to come to me, the person you sacked.

[00:11:17]It means he was still going to check the president.

[00:11:22]But, on the on the other hand, so, in the same boat, I'm I'm I'm I'm actually the captain of the of a different decision of the different division in the same boat. So, it is that is why this this whole thing feels like a movie. It feels like a chess.

[00:11:46]So, it tells us that when the president of Senegal is beginning to make some moves, the speaker of parliament will be there to ensure that he's checking the president.

[00:12:02]Now, I'm also believing that this is going to be the last presidency of Diomaye Faye because the youth and then the party on which ticket he stood is the Pastef party. And then the Pastef party, they loved Ousmane Sonko. Guess what? In May In May 9th, 2026, the parliament had a sitting where they had to go into the convictions that that makes someone unqualified to run for presidency. And they had to amend they had to state categorically what convictions actually will make someone not be able to run for presidency. And then guess what?

[00:12:47]They were able to do that and it means the way has been paved for Ousmane Sonko to run for presidency in the next election. And then this is why it is interesting. It feels like a movie. It It feels like a a Netflix series.

[00:13:01]We are going to watch to see what is going to go on, how the chess is going to be played in Senegal politics. My name is Lucky Dube. Let's cook.

[00:13:08]Subscribe to the channel. Leave your comments in the comment section. Tell me what you think about this. It is interesting. If you understand politics very well, you are going to know that this is actually very interesting. And then I love whatever is going on in Senegal. You know, two very young people who are trying to fight for the the the development of Senegal.

[00:13:29]We wish them well. If you are Senegalese, leave your comment. Tell me what you think in the comment section.

[00:13:34]And then we are going to deliberate. We are going to leave or we are going to reply you in the comments.

[00:13:41]Thank you very much. Thank you for the subscriptions. We appreciate what you are doing. We'll see you in the next one.

[00:13:47]Voila.