A Senegalese court on Monday sentenced two lawmakers to six months in jail for assaulting a pregnant colleague on December 1 during an acrimonious parliamentary session that escalated into a full-blown brawl.
The men, Amadou Niang and Massata Samb of the opposition PUR party, were also ordered to pay a total of 5 million CFA francs (about $8,200) in compensation to lawmaker Amy Ndiaye Gniby of the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition.
In a chaotic televised scene that shocked Senegal, Samb slapped Gniby during a budget debate in the National Assembly after she mocked his comments critical of them.
Gniby responded by throwing a chair at Samb and was then pushed to the ground by other lawmakers and kicked in the abdomen by Niang.
The fight worsened political tensions in Senegal that have escalated since the ruling party lost its comfortable majority in legislative elections in July.
The loss was widely seen as a rebuke to President Macky Sall amid uncertainty over whether he will seek a third term in 2024, a move the opposition says would violate term limits and an earlier promise.
Sall, 60, has refused to say clearly if he plans to run again.
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