Prime Minister Al Amine Lo sends enigmatic message to Ousmane Sonko

In a message published Monday morning, the head of government wrote, "Loo xam xam Démba, ma-démba gën la xam Démba," which he translated as: "Whatever you know about Demba, Demba's close associate knows Demba better than you." This statement appears to be an indirect response to his predecessor at the Prime Minister's office, Ousmane Sonko, who is now the President of the National Assembly and still leads Pastef. Al Amine Lo's message comes hours after Sonko's declarations on Sunday, where the Pastef leader addressed various political and economic topics.

Since Sonko's departure from the Prime Minister's office last May, exchanges between the two men have become increasingly direct. Ousmane Sonko had previously criticized the new head of government, urging him to focus on his area of expertise. In July, Al Amine Lo had already responded to Sonko's remarks on patriotism by stating that it could not be "the monopoly of a single camp."

The Prime Minister's new message is part of a series of growing political tensions between the former and current heads of government. Without explicitly naming Ousmane Sonko, Al Amine Lo seems to be reminding him, through this metaphor, that knowledge of a person or situation also depends on proximity to it. This is a subtle way, yet difficult to separate from the current political context, to respond