Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye terminated the mandate of Prime Minister and former political mentor Ousmane Sonko on Friday evening through an official decree, following months of escalating tensions between the two leaders.

A statement broadcast on national television by the presidential secretary-general Oumar Samba Ba confirmed that President Faye “has ended 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 administrative affairs,” the statement continued.

Once a fierce opponent of former President Macky Sall (2012–2024), Sonko was barred from running in the February 2024 presidential election due to a defamation conviction that stripped him of his civil rights, sparking widespread protests against Sall’s potential third-term bid.

Sonko had then endorsed Bassirou Diomaye Faye as his replacement. Since Faye’s election, however, the relationship between the president and his former mentor—once a charismatic leader whose influence helped secure their political alliance—has deteriorated steadily.

With a bold panafricanist narrative, Sonko had rallied Senegal’s disillusioned youth ahead of the 2024 election and throughout a prolonged standoff with Macky Sall’s administration.

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

Social media quickly filled with videos showing Sonko’s supporters rushing to his home, chanting his name in response to the government reshuffle.

For months, public rifts between the head of state and the head of government had deepened, making any prospect of reconciliation increasingly unlikely.

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