Dakar---Former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade told thousands of opposition supporters Wednesday that he was prepared to "give his life" to prevent his son being convicted of corruption charges.
The 88-year-old addressed a meeting in a central square in the capital Dakar after it was allowed to go ahead despite clashes between supporters and security forces at similar gatherings last week.
"My son will not be found guilty because I will not allow this court, this thing, to pass judgement on him," said Wade.
"I am prepared to give my life," he said. "Anyone who does not fight back when their son is arrested is a coward."
Karim Wade has been on trial since July 2014, accused of illegally acquiring companies and real estate worth almost $240 million (180 million euros) during his time as a minister and an adviser to his father.
Abdoulaye Wade called on current President Macky Sall to allow his son to stand trial in the High Court rather than before a special corruption tribunal known as the CREI that is hosting the proceedings.
Leading officials of Wade's former ruling Democratic Party of Senegal (PDS) are either standing trial alongside Karim Wade or in prison on similar charges.
"All these people did nothing wrong," Abdoulaye Wade said.
He said it was "a normal thing" for heads of state to intervene in trials, after he told newspapers last week that the leaders of Ivory Coast and Congo had urged Sall to end the proceedings against Karim Wade.
The younger Wade was an extremely divisive figure in Senegalese politics in the run-up to the presidential election in March 2012, with many believing his father was trying to line him up as a successor.
He was often criticised for alleged mismanagement of public finances and was nicknamed "super minister", and "the minister of the Earth and the sky", after his father placed him in charge of the international cooperation, air transport, infrastructure and energy portfolios.
AFP
