FAYE SWORN IN AS SENEGAL'S PRESIDENT

In a change of fortunes fit for a fairytale, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye has transformed from prisoner to president of his country - in less than three weeks!

The 44-year-old Pan-African was sworn in as sixth Senegalese leader on April 2nd after a convincing win in last month’s presidential election.

Faye's path to the presidential palace was full of twists and turns. Initially, he was not even supposed to be on the ballot. He came in as a replacement candidate after his comrade and mentor, Ousmane Sonko, was disqualified - over charges many saw as a politically motivated ploy by then-president Macky Sall to clip the wings of Sonko, a youthful, firebrand politician who, since 2021, has led nationwide demonstrations against the Sall administration. The protests reached a crescendo when Sall tried to move elections from February to October - they not only pressured him into moving back the election date to March, they also led to the release of political prisoners, including Faye and Sonko.

A few days after leaving jail, Faye trounced Amadou Ba, the candidate of Sall's coalition.

Now that he has crossed the election hurdle, Faye has the task of uniting a nation that underwent months of social unrest, and also deliver economic growth to meet the needs of the millions of citizens on whose shoulders he was carried on from prison to palace.

Do you think Faye is up to task?