Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and his entire government on Friday evening through a presidential decree, following months of escalating tensions between the two leaders.

In a televised announcement delivered by the presidential secretary-general Oumar Samba Ba, the president stated he had “terminated the functions of Mr. Ousmane Sonko as Prime Minister, and consequently those of the ministers and state secretaries serving in the government.”

“The outgoing government members are tasked with handling current affairs until further notice,” the statement continued.

Once a staunch opponent of former President Macky Sall (2012-2024), Ousmane Sonko was barred from contesting the February 2024 presidential election after a defamation conviction stripped him of his civil rights. This decision sparked widespread protests across the country against President Sall’s potential bid for a third term.

Sonko subsequently endorsed Bassirou Diomaye Faye as his replacement. Since Faye’s election, however, the relationship between the president and his former mentor—whose significant influence was instrumental in propelling the duo to power—has steadily deteriorated.

With a fiery panafricanist rhetoric, Ousmane Sonko had inspired passionate support among Senegal’s disillusioned youth ahead of the 2024 presidential race and during months of confrontation with Macky Sall’s administration.

“Alhamdoulillah. Tonight, I will sleep peacefully in the Keur Gorgui district,” Sonko wrote on his Facebook page shortly after the announcement, referring to his residence in Dakar.

Videos circulating on social media showed Sonko’s supporters rushing to his home in Keur Gorgui, chanting his name in response to his dismissal.

For several months, visible rifts between the head of state and the head of government had widened, making any prospect of reconciliation increasingly unlikely.

Sonko’s party holds a commanding majority in Senegal’s National Assembly after securing a landslide victory in the November 2024 legislative elections.