The attorneys for Dakar mayor Barthélémy Dias filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Senegal, attempting to have his two-year prison sentence—six months of which he had already served—quashed. On Friday, the court denied the appeal.

Mayor Dias received a sentence for his role in Ndiaga Diouf’s killing in 2011. Ndiaga Diouf was a teenage Abdoulaye Wade supporter. The Dakar Court of Appeal’s criminal chamber upheld a ruling that sentenced Mr. Dias, a member of the Senegalese Parliament, to two years in prison.

On December 22, 2011, during a daytime attack on Mermoz Sacré-Coeur City Hall, where Barthelemy Dias was the mayor, Ndiaga Diouf was shot and killed. Supporters of Abdoulaye Wade are alleged to have carried out the incident. Barthelemy Dias allegedly killed Ndiaga Diouif when he opened his office and fired rounds at the attackers while brandishing a weapon.

Barthelemy Dias, who was informed of the sentence on Friday, charged that Senegalese authorities had uncovered the case to thwart his presidential candidate, Khalifa Sall, a former Dakar mayor.

But as a result of his defeat at the Supreme Court, the mayor of Dakar faces the possibility of losing his position as a member of parliament. The Senegalese National Assembly’s internal regulations, specifically Article 51, Chapter 13, which stipulate that “Should a deputy be confirmed to be convicted in a criminal case, the deputy is expelled from the National Assembly at the request of the Minister of Justice,” will have a negative impact on Barthélémy Dias

Barthélémy Dias was prosecuted for fatal assault with injuries causing death of Ndiaga Diouf and sentenced to two years in prison, including the six months he already served. He was also ordered to pay a compensation of 25 million FCFA to the family of Ndiaga Diouf. Barth may retain his position as mayor of Dakar since there is no legal provision in the local government act that warrants his dismissal.