Ousmane Sonko villa dispute adjourned again in Dakar

The civil proceedings pitting Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko against former minister Mame Mbaye Niang, concerning the contested ownership of a villa within Cité Keur Gorgui, have been postponed once more. The third civil chamber of the Dakar tribunal has rescheduled the hearing for July 22, 2026. This legal confrontation revolves around a 264 square meter property, identified as lot n°R/17, which Mame Mbaye Niang claims was fraudulently transferred. The case was initially presented before the court on Wednesday, June 10.

Mame Mbaye Niang, who previously held the portfolio of Tourism Minister, initiated this civil action with the aim of nullifying the alleged transfer of his villa. His core objective is to ensure the real estate asset is re-registered in his name, a step crucial for him to recover the 200 million CFA francs in damages that were definitively awarded to him by the Supreme Court following a previous criminal procedure.

Attorneys representing Mame Mbaye Niang assert that the transfer of the villa’s leasehold rights to the family of the current Prime Minister constitutes a “deliberate maneuver intended to orchestrate Ousmane Sonko’s insolvency and effectively shield the asset from any potential seizure.” This marks a further adjournment in the case. The civil judge is now tasked with rendering a decision on the substantive merits of the dispute, following the submission of Mame Mbaye Niang’s legal team’s responses to the written arguments presented by Ousmane Sonko’s defense.