During a parliamentary address, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko vehemently criticized what he described as Western “tyranny” for attempting to “impose homosexuality” on the world. He firmly rejected any calls for a moratorium on the enforcement of a recently passed law that doubles prison sentences for same-sex relationships—now ranging from five to ten years—before being signed into law by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on March 31. The legislation follows a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment across the country, marked by multiple arrests under suspicion of homosexuality.

“There is a form of tyranny at play,” Sonko declared. “We are eight billion people on Earth, yet a small group—the West—where the debate isn’t settled but holds sway due to its resources and control over media, seeks to impose this on the rest of the world. On what grounds?” He added that since the law’s passage, Senegal had faced “numerous reactions, particularly from France.” He emphasized, “If they have chosen this path, that is their concern. We will not accept lectures from them—absolutely not.”

No moratorium will be granted

The Prime Minister reiterated that unlike Western demands for a moratorium, “no Asian, African, or Arab nation has criticized our stance.” He warned that if the law needed further strengthening, it would be. Sonko urged the judiciary to ensure its “full, impartial, and rigorous” application, stating that the law’s primary objective is to “halt the spread of homosexuality.”

Sonko also dismissed calls for a moratorium from a collective of around thirty African-origin figures, whose open letter published in a French newspaper mid-May cited a climate of “fear, hatred, and violence” gripping Senegal since the law’s adoption. “There will be no moratorium,” he asserted. “Some of our elites are burdened by inferiority complexes.”

Same-sex relations remain socially condemned in Senegal, and the government’s crackdown aligns with long-standing political promises that resonate with the electorate in this conservative nation.