Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has confirmed the new legislation targeting LGBTQ+ activities will be strictly enforced.

During a parliamentary session on May 22, 2026, Sonko addressed concerns raised by Western governments regarding the harsher penalties for same-sex relations in the country.

The Prime Minister emphasized Senegal’s sovereign right to uphold laws that reflect its cultural and social values, rejecting outside pressure to compromise on the matter.

“The Senegalese people are sovereign. The vast majority do not accept these practices in our nation,” Sonko declared to lawmakers.

Confronting accusations of Western influence

In response to criticism from African activists and Western officials who threatened funding cuts, Sonko dismissed claims of external manipulation.

“There exists a form of tyranny. With eight billion people on Earth, a small Western bloc—despite internal divisions—uses its economic and media dominance to impose its views on the rest of the world. But on what authority?”

He categorically ruled out any moratorium on the law’s implementation, reaffirming that it will be applied without exception.

The legislative changes, passed by the National Assembly on March 27, 2026, amend Article 319 of the Penal Code (Law No. 65-60 of July 21, 1965), introducing stricter penalties for “acts against nature.”

The updated law now defines such acts as any sexual activity between individuals of the same sex, or involving a person and an animal or corpse. Violations carry penalties of five to ten years’ imprisonment and fines ranging from 2 to 10 million West African CFA francs, with additional consequences for rape or pedophilia.