(FILES) Senegal Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko (L), Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye attend a ceremony after receiving the official report on the Thiaroye massacre, at the Presidential Palace in Dakar, on October 16, 2025. Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of tensions, deepening a crisis in the debt-laden west African nation. The shock announcement was made on state television in a decree read out by presidential aide Oumar Samba Ba, who said Faye "has ended the duties of Ousmane Sonko... and consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government". (Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP)
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, President of Senegal, terminated the mandate of his former comrade-in-arms and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on May 22, following months of escalating tensions between the two leaders who rose to power together in April 2024.
The iconic duo that once chanted ‘Diomaye Moy Sonko’ — meaning ‘Diomaye is Sonko’ in Wolof — has officially come to an end. The partnership between Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko, which propelled them to victory in April 2024 by rallying against outgoing President Macky Sall, has now collapsed under stark disagreement.
Ousmane Sonko’s path to the presidency was blocked by a defamation conviction that stripped him of his civic rights. He threw his weight behind Bassirou Diomaye Faye, likely expecting to maintain control while securing the premiership for himself.
Once inseparable allies within the Pastef party for twelve years, their alliance had never wavered — until their shared two-year tenure in power exposed irreconcilable differences. The rift deepened steadily, culminating in a decisive break.
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