Ousmane Sonko

Ousmane Sonko was born in Thiès, Senegal, and spent his childhood in Sébikotane (near Dakar), and Casamance. His father is from Casamance and his mother is from Khombole.[8]

Sonko received a baccalaureate in 1993, and in 1999 a master's degree in Juridical Science, specializing in public law, from Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis, Senegal.

After Sonko obtained his master's degree he attended the National School of Administration and Judiciary (ENAM). Sonko spent 15 years of service as a tax specialist.[9]

Sonko is the president of the political party PASTEF-Les Patriotes "Patriots of Senegal for Ethics, Work and Fraternity", which was created in 2014. He is also the elected deputy of the NDAWI ASKAN WI / People’s Alternative coalition in the National Assembly.[10]

In 2016 Sonko was a tax inspector-turned-whistleblower. He exposed corrupt practices such as offshore tax havens by the Senegalese elite, such as a $50 million mineral sands processing plant. SNC Lavalin-Mauritius Ltd, a Canadian company used a shell so as to avoid paying an estimated $8.9 million in taxes. He was terminated as a result of his activism.[11][12]

Sonko is the author of the Pétrole et gaz au Sénégal, published in 2017.[13] The book chronicles the Petro-Tim affair scandals.[14] and argues for the reappropriation of national wealth and for sustainable management of the environmental and social impacts of natural resources extraction. In 2018 he authored a second book titled "Solutions".

Sonko ran for president in the 2019 election in Senegal as a tax justice candidate. Sonko wants Senegal, which still uses the French franc (along with seven other Francophone countries in West Africa) to eventually replace the franc with a domestic currency. "Sonko proposes a gradual, prudent and responsible exit from the franc CFA monetary system that is holding our economies hostage" according to Pastef Partie activist Mamadou Yauck.[15]

In the presidential election of February 24, 2019 Mackey Sall was re-elected, winning 58% of the vote. Sonko came in third place with 16%.[16] During the election run-up (and just prior to election day) Sonko was targeted repeatedly with anonymous smears utilizing fake documents and false claims aimed at discrediting his character.[17][18]

"One of the first programmes to be addressed, if I were to be elected, is the reconstruction of the Emile Badiane Bridge. Look at the state of this bridge…we will not wait to experience a second tragedy like the one of the boat “Joola".[19]

"A tax haven can be a haven for multinationals who want to avoid paying taxes. But for the country, it's Hell".[20]

Sonko says many West African tax authorities are doubly plagued: They don’t have the means to investigate complex foreign transactions, and, when investigators do make headway, politicians find ways to torpedo their small successes, and that the situation is made worse by general ignorance of the importance of corporate tax – or any tax – to society. “When people don’t even understand what taxes are, acting on something like the Paradise Papers is challenging”.[21]

“If you talk about ‘tax havens’ in some countries in Africa, people will look at you and think you’re insane".[22]

“We have the potential, but our wealth is sold off to multinationals that are already extremely rich and whose home countries are also rich".[23]

• Paradise Papers: The True Story Behind The Secret Nine-Month Investigation (HBO)