Dakar court postpones Sonko-Niang property dispute to july 2026

The Dakar Court of First Instance has rescheduled the hearing in the high-stakes property dispute between businessman Mame Mbaye Niang and opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to 22 July 2026. The adjournment was granted after a formal request from Sonko’s legal team, seeking additional time to prepare responses to Niang’s latest submissions.

At the heart of the legal battle lies a 200 million CFA franc damages award granted to Niang by the courts. The verdict—comprising a two-month prison sentence and the financial penalty—was handed down against Sonko after Niang successfully argued that Sonko had fraudulently transferred ownership of a villa in the Cité Keur Gorgui district to evade enforcement. The property, situated on a 264m² plot, is registered under lot number R/17.

Niang’s legal representatives allege that the property’s transfer to Sonko’s family was a deliberate act of strategic insolvency, designed to shield assets from seizure. They claim the move was orchestrated to obstruct the execution of the court’s monetary judgment, effectively rendering Sonko financially untouchable in the eyes of the law. “This wasn’t an accidental oversight,” noted a source close to the plaintiff. “It was a calculated effort to sidestep accountability.”

This is the second postponement in the case. The initial hearing, originally set for an earlier date, was pushed to 10 June to allow Niang’s lawyers to craft a rebuttal to Sonko’s written defenses. With the new date set for mid-2026, both parties now have a clearer runway to finalize arguments before the court re-examines the evidence.